Written in Time Itself - The Epic Tale of the Doctor and Rose
by Evelyn Rose Caiside
Summary: Rose and the Doctor had their fun, and now the universe is taking it back. The unhappy Doctor thinks she's happy now when Rose is in her own hades, and slightly mad at him and daring to return. There's a girl, a watch, a sister and brother, and a legend t
1. Chapter 1: Bad Wolf's Beginning?

**IF YOU FIND THIS BORING SKIP TO CHAPTER THREE. CHAPTERS ONE AND TWO ARE SETTING UP THE BACKGROUND STORY. KINDA LIKE THE FIRST FIFTEEN MINUTES IN THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RINGS.**

**A/N: **So, first chapter! This one's a bit... script-ish? Sorry, 'bout that. At least the TARDIS makes her presence known. Something in here is important though. Let's see if you can find it. ;) If not, please enjoy my, hopefully more descriptive version of POW. If you get bored of this, check out my profile to see a synopsis of this story.

* * *

Rose was mad. She was also worried, scared, and on the verge of flooding the café with tears.

The Doctor had sent her home. She couldn't do anything to help him and now he would die. That bloody blue box wouldn't fly back to the game-station. It would just sit there and gather dust. And now Mickey had the nerve to suggest that she thought she was better than them. Of course she didn't think that, she was only worried about the Doctor.

"It was a better life. And I don't mean all the traveling and seeing aliens and spaceships and things. That doesn't matter. The Doctor showed me a better way of living your life.", she took a deep, shuddering breath, "You know, he showed you too. And you can't just give it up. You don't just let things happen. You make a stand. You say no. You have the guts to do what's right when everyone else just runs away, and I just can't-"

Rose ran outside and she saw it.

Bad Wolf.

Her mind went wild. Everywhere she went it was there. _But why?_ It was like a part of her that she didn't know. It wasn't a warning. It was a message that followed her.

She ran to the TARDIS with Mickey. How was she supposed to get back to him? Maybe a reverse trip. All she had to do was go back exactly where she left.

They burnt out the tires on the mini trying to open the console and she was ready to give up when her mom came around the corner with a truck. This time she attached a chain to a handle on the TARDIS. And this time it worked.

She looked into the console. It was beautiful. A golden light swam around her as a song floated through her head and she felt like she could fly. She didn't even take notice when the TARDIS slammed the doors on Mickey.

_'It's so beautiful'_ thought Rose, as she closed her eyes and listened to the song.

The TARDIS laughed in her mind. _'Thank you. It's the sound of the Time Vortex, and my song'_, she explained.

Rose gasped. "You can hear me?"

The TARDIS laughed again. _'Yes'_

The TARDIS found something in Rose that was familiar. She could handle the vortex, something she shouldn't be able to do. There was something ancient in her, something hidden. Stuff of legend. Quite literally too. She realized this small, human girl was the only one who could save her thief. Of course he'd be mad at her for letting Rose see the Vortex, but the TARDIS somehow knew she would be fine. Better even, because now she would be slightly telepathic and the TARDIS would have another girl to talk to.

* * *

The Doctor bent his head down. He was going to die, and ironically, by the hands of his own enemies. Normally he would have accepted this and would think he deserved it, but all he could think about was a certain pink-and-yellow human. The girl who started to heal his hearts. The reason that caused him to want to live again. He realized didn't want to die. He wanted to stop these bloody Daleks and go back to Rose and apologize for lying to her and sending her away. But that wouldn't happen. He would die and Rose and the TARDIS would be alone.

But then he heard a glorious sound, albeit, one he really didn't want hear right now.

He looked back and the doors of his beloved ship opened. He squinted as a golden light assaulted his eyes.

Rose, equivalent to a goddess, stepped out. She was bathed in a golden energy that snaked it's way out of the TARDIS console and around her.

The Doctor was dumbstruck. "What have you done?", he yelled.

Rose looked at him the way a mother looks at her child when explaining something sad or serious. She spoke with a soft, ethereal voice, "I looked into the TARDIS, and the TARDIS looked into me".

"You looked into the Time Vortex, Rose! No one's meant to see that."

"EXTERMINATE!" a robotic sound echoed in the room.

Rose lifted her hand and stopped the blue beam. She spoke to the universe with a commanding tone.

"I am the Bad Wolf. I create myself." She lifted a hand to a company sign as the letters, spelling out BAD WOLF, floated into the air in chaos and disappeared. "I scatter them in time and space, a message to lead myself here."

The Doctor knew what she could, and would do with the power running through her. "Rose. You've got to stop this. Stop this now. You've got the entire vortex running through your head." He swallowed."You're going to burn."

Rose, her face painful and sad, looked at him. A few tears slide down her cheek. "I want you safe, my Doctor. Protected from the false god.", she whispered.

The Emperor retorted in a disbelieving tone. "You cannot hurt me. I am immortal."

She swung her head to him. "You are tiny", she vehemently spat out, "I can see the whole of time and space. Every single atom of your existence, and I divide them."

She slowly disintegrated a Dalek slowly, to prove her point.

"Everything must come to dust." She squeezed her hand shut. "All things. Everything dies. The Time War ends."

The Dalek Emperor yelled out about his immortality in vain as he and all the Daleks fell into piles of gold star dust, along with their ship.

The Doctor looked back at Rose. He could see she was in pain, and starting to sweat. She was burning. "Rose, you've done it, now stop. Just let go."

But she felt Jack's dead body and gave it life. "How can I let go of this? I can bring life", she countered.

"But it's wrong! You can't control life and death."

"But I can." She paused to confusedly search his face. "The sun and moon. The day and night. But why do they hurt?"

"It's going to kill you, and it's all my fault." He tried to show her reason, but she ignored him if she even had heard him speak.

"I can see everything. All that is, all that was, all that ever could be." She started crying as she saw something. Something horrible. Her own personal doomsday. The day she would be separated from the Doctor_._ She didn't see the rest of the timeline when he spoke again.

"That's what I see all the time. Doesn't it drive you mad?"

"My head", she cried, not for the physical, but the emotional pain she had seen.

"Come here."

She walked to him. "It's killing me", she whispered.

Then he used his favorite pick-up line. It probably _wasn't_ the time or place, but he needed to break the worried, jumbled thoughts running through his mind.

"I think you need a doctor." He gently touched her cheek as he softly kissed her. He took in the Vortex, wondering how she handled the searing pain. She finally collapsed in his arms and he exhaled the time energy back into the TARDIS, who stored it away in her console and closed the doors. The Doctor picked up Rose and carried her to the TARDIS, laid her on the floor of the console room, and set the ship adrift in the vortex.

He looked at his pink-and-yellow human.

_(Wait. His? When did that happen? Bah, whatever.)_

She, Rose Tyler, a mere human, had stopped the Time War. After all the years and years of fighting, a simple selfless girl had ended the horrible war, and his family and friends that had died because of it were finally avenged. And she had made the last act of this horrible life, not death. She definitely was not a stupid ape.

Rose woke up and squinted her eyes at the light in the console room. She was legitimately confused and a bit dazed, like when someone wakes from a dream.

"What happened?", she moaned.

The Doctor but worried, but slightly relived. "You don't remember?"

"It's like- There was this singing", she gestured with her hand.

The Doctor flashed her a goofy grin. "That's right. I sang a song and the Daleks ran away."

The TARDIS chuckled and decided to tease him. _"That's why I shock you when you sing in the shower."_

The Doctor ignored her and turned his attention back to Rose.

She was trying to piece the day together in her head. "I was at home. No- No, I wasn't, I was in the TARDIS, and there was this light." She sighed. "I don't remember anything else."

The Doctor looked down at his hand and saw a flash of regeneration energy run across it.

"Rose Tyler." He sighed. "I was going to take you to so many places. Like Barcelona! Not the city, but the plant Barcelona. You'd love it. Fantastic place. Did I ever tell you about the dogs with no noses? No matter how many times a day you end up telling that joke, it's still funny."

Rose furrowed her eyebrows and questioned him. "Then why can't we go?"

He looked up at her. "Maybe you will. Maybe I will, but not like this."

Rose was definitely worried now. "You're not making sense."

The Doctor rambled on, not making a lick of sense as the TARDIS rolled her metaphorical eyes.

"I might never make sense again. I might have two heads." He chuckled at the thought, but seriously hoping that wouldn't happen. "Or no head. Imagine me with no head! Don't you dare say that's an improvement. It's a bit dodgy, this process. You never know what you're going to end up with when- " He lost his train of thought as he doubled over in pain.

Rose wasn't worried now, she was scared, maybe more like terrified. "Doctor!" She ran over to help him, but he stopped her with his hand.

"Stay away!"

"Doctor, what's going on?"

He sighed and explained. "I absorbed all the energy of the Time Vortex and no one's meant to do that. Every cell in my body is dying."

Rose, now on the verge of hysterics, and not the happy kind, was struggling to hold in her tears. _What had happened? What was making him suffer like this?_

"Can't you do something?"

"Yeah, actually I'm doing it now. See, Time Lords have this little trick, sort of a way of cheating death. Except it means I'm going to change, and I'm not going to see you again. " Rose gasped as he continued. "Not like this, with this daft old face." He grinned. "I before I go-"

"Don't say that!"

"Rose, Before I go, I just want to tell you, you were fantastic. Absolutely fantastic, and you know what?" He nodded. "So was I." He grinned as a golden light shot from his head, hands, and feet. Rose hid behind a coral strut, her mouth partly hanging open, as his body become smaller and his face changed. It lasted a few minutes before the regeneration energy began to diminish and finally faded. The Doctor brought his head back down and shook it. Rose stood, her mouth still hanging open, and stared at the Doctor.

He was skinner, not to mention a bit taller. The leather jacket seemed to barley hang on his lanky frame. His skin was a tad lighter, and sprinkled with freckles. His ears and nose weren't quite as big. A mass of brown, unruly, slightly spiky hair replaced his cropped head. The stern, cold, blue eyes were now brown and soulful, but they still held the look of the Doctor. They were ageless as time itself and had seen the equivalent of Hell, but yet still had felt love, especially for a certain human girl. (Not that he would tell her that. He didn't even tell himself that yet.)

The strange-yet-familiar Doctor grinned at Rose. "Oh, Hello." She found out his Northern accent had been traded in for Southern London one. He ran his tongue over his top row of teeth and tested out his face muscles. "Ooo, new teeth. That's weird. So, where was I? Right. Barcelona."

All Rose could do was stare, her mouth still hanging open, while the TARDIS rolled her eyes. Again.

For a Lord of Time, her thief was incredibly thick. He had months to warn this poor girl about regeneration, but did he tell her? _No_, not even she reminded him. Now the poor girl would wonder where the Doctor was and he'd have to convince her it really was him, not to mention gain her trust again.

If the TARDIS had a face and a palm, she would have facepalmed. Repeatably.

* * *

**A/N: **Did you find it? Look in the middle. Right above the horizontal line. The TARDIS knows what's up. ;) Also, be kind to a new FF user and leave a review. Or PM me if your some English Nazi who knows the whole .", stuff. It's bugging me 'cos I don't know what to do.


	2. Chapter 2: Sycorax in a Pear Tree

**A/N: **Omyword. There's already two favorites, four followers, and fifty-five unique viewers for this story! Thank you! By the way, I need your help Brits. If you see anything too 'American', feel free to tell me. In fact, _please_ tell me. This is another scriptish chapter, but has my personal tweaks put in. It really only has the Doctor/Rose/Jackie/Mickey dialogue. There's another reference to Bad Wolf in here. Can you find it?

* * *

"Let's go somewhere to relax. Regeneration seems to drain life out of you. Ha! Sorry, that really wasn't funny. Anyway, the third (or was it the fifth) time I regenerated, I was knackered for a week. So I went to this planet, where it so happens I look like one of their mythological gods." The Doctor went rambling on about regenerations, the comfiest bed he had ever sleep in, and the time he meet a polka-dotted cat that lacked a tail. He went dancing around the console pressing random buttons, totally oblivious to Rose's bewildered look .

Meanwhile, her brain was busy analyzing the last ten minutes.

First, she woke up on the console floor, not remembering what had happened to her. (Apparently the Doctor had sung a song and the Daleks left? It seemed a bit of a far-fetched children's story.) Second, the Doctor doubles over in pain for no reason and then shoots into a fountain of golden light like it's Guy Fawkes Night. Either he is more alien than she previously thought, or she's still in a dream, maybe a nightmare. Third, he will not shut up about a polka-dotted cat. Or anything else for that matter. He partially reminds her of a insatiable five-year-old. (_Now he's talking about meeting a king on a purple planet?_) His old personality must've flown out the window with the rest of him. The old him hardly talked. Fourth, a song was playing in her head out of nowhere. It was pretty, but confusing and slightly creepy all the same.

Rose finally came to her senses and snapped her jaw up off the ground with a audible click. Somehow, with his superior Time Lord abilities, he heard it over his running gob.

"Well?", he draws out.

"Um, uh, what?"

"Do you want to go somewhere to relax?"

"How- How 'bout we go to mum's. Maybe for Christmas?"

"Really, Rose? Out of all of time and space, you want to visit your mum? And during a holiday?"

_Well, at least he still shared the fear of her mother from his last body._

"Well, if it's a problem-" She doesn't finish the sentence. He then realizes the look on her face. Maybe he should have told her about regeneration _before_ it happened. '_Ya think?_' the TARDIS sarcastically replied to his mental statement.

"Alrightly then. Ugh, not saying that again. Off we go!" He flashed her a grin and she nervously smiled back.

This was going to take some getting used to.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the Powell Estates, Jackie was setting up a Christmas tree, hoping Rose would be home for Christmas without bringing a planet of aliens, intent on taking over the human race, with her. Mickey was working his way through the day. Hearing the sound of the TARDIS, they rushed out and meet each other in the street.

They saw the TARDIS, but something had to be wrong, because it crashed into three building and trash cans on it's way down. The TARDIS inwardly groaned. This regeneration couldn't drive. At all.

The Doctor rushed out the TARDIS doors.

They had made it. And in one piece, too. He wasn't _quite_ sure where _or when _they would land, seeing he wasn't used to these hands yet.

"Here we are then!" He announces to a shocked Jackie and Mickey, along with a dazed Rose and unhappy TARDIS. "London. Earth. The Solar System. We did it."

He nodded to the pair in front of him. "Jackie, Mickey- Blimey. No, no, no, hold on. " He gestures with his hands as Rose comes to the TARDIS doorway. "Wait, there's something I've got to say- Something I had to tell you. No- Hold on, shush, shush, Oh! Merry Christmas!"

With this revelation he fell to the ground. Rose rushed out and came over to him. "What happened? Is he alright?"

"I dunno.", a confused Mickey answered, "He just keeled over. But who is he? Where's the Doctor?"

Rose stood up and pointed to the unconscious man. "That's him, in front of you. That's the Doctor."

Jackie all but screeched. "What do you mean 'that's the Doctor'?

"I don't know, mum! He just sort of changed."

"Well, we can't leave 'em lying out in the middle of a bloody street. Let's get him up to the flat. Here, Mickey, you take his shoulders and Rose, you get his legs. I'll open doors on the way up."

* * *

Half an hour and a few bruises later, they made it up to Rose's room. Mickey changed the Doctor into pajamas that Jackie had (They were a set from Howard from the market, who was now Jackie's boyfriend), and Rose listened to his hearts with a borrowed stethoscope. There didn't seem to be anything wrong. So after watching the telly for a bit, Mickey and Rose went out Christmas shopping only to be attacked by several Santa Clauses.

They rushed home as fast as they could. (With Rose hoping she remembered to pay the taxi driver.) However, they were attacked in the apartment by a Christmas tree. The Doctor still wouldn't wake up and Rose was sure the wardrobe that Mum and Mickey pulled across the door wouldn't hold much longer. The Doctor finally did wake up at the last minute after Rose whispered in his ear.

Now they were out on the balcony, having a face off with three Santas.

"That's them!", Mickey exclaimed and Rose was quick to shush him.

The Doctor aimed his sonic screwdriver at them and they beamed back to wherever they came from

"They've gone. What kind of rubbish are they?", Mickey asked. "I mean, no offense, but they're not much cop if a sonic screwdriver's going to scare them off."

"Pilot fish", the Doctor declared.

Rose looked at him, her eyebrows furrowed. "What?"

"They were just pilot fish"

The Doctor bent over in pain.  
"What's wrong?" Rose crawled over to him.

"You woke me up too soon. I'm still regenerating. I'm bursting with energy." He exhaled a bit of gold dust. "You see? The pilot fish could smell it a million miles away. So they eliminate the defense, that's you lot, and they carry me off. They could run their batteries on me for a couple of-" He bent over in pain again.  
"My head! I'm having a neuron implosion. I need-"  
Jackie was now hovering over him in a motherly way. "What do you need?"  
"I need"  
"Just say it! Tell me, tell me, tell me."

"I need" the Doctor kept repeating himself, only to be interrupted by Jackie.

"Painkillers? Do you need aspirin? Codeine? Paracetamol? Oh, I don't know, Pepito-Bismol? Liquid paraffin. Vitamin C? Vitamin D? Vitamin E? Is it food? Like something simple. Bowl of soup. A nice bowl of soup? Soup and a sandwich? Soup and a little ham sandwich?"

"I need you to shut up!" he finally yelled.

"Oi! He hasn't changed _that_ much, has he?", Jackie snorted. Rose gave her mum a pointed glare. After getting some questions answered about apples in dressing gowns, the Doctor collapsed again.

* * *

After putting the Doctor back to bed, Rose was watching the telly. The news was showing pictures from Mars, and a weird alien with red eyes growled at the screen. Rose didn't recognize it or it's language. Meanwhile, Mickey had hacked into the military website.

"Rose, take a look. I've got access to the military." Rose sat next to him on the couch and looked at the screen while Mickey went on to explain.

"They're tracking a spaceship. It's big and fast, and it's coming this way"

"Coming for what? The Doctor?"

"I don't know. Maybe they're coming for all of us." He pulled up pictures of the aliens from UNIT.

"Rose, have you seen them before?"

"No."

She looked back at the telly while it showed footage of the aliens.

"I don't understand what they're saying. The TARDIS usually translates alien languages in my head all the time, no matter where I am."

"Why isn't it doing it now?", Mickey asked. He was still investigating UNIT's website.

"I don't know. It must be the Doctor." She looked back towards the bedroom. "Maybe he's part of the circuit, and he's- He's broken."

Rose put her head in her hands. "The Doctor, the old Doctor, he wouldn't do this. He'd save us."

Mickey looked over to her and realized something. He had lost his girlfriend. She loved this man, or rather alien. He couldn't compare to him, but he could still be her friend. She may not love him, not like _that_ anyway, but he would be there for her.

"You really love him, don't you?" Rose turned to Mickey with tear-filled eyes and he embraced her.

They let go of each other when they heard yelling out the flat. A women was yelling at a man who was walking down the hall, staring into thin air. Rose came out the door and saw her neighbor, Sandra.

"Sandra?"

"He won't listen!" She was on the verge of hysterics. "He's just walking! And he won't stop! There's this sort of light thing." Sandra gestured with her hands. "Jason! Stop it right now! Please, just stop."

Rose and Mickey looked out the window to see people walking away from the estate and the buildings surrounding it. They all had the same blank stare. Mickey looked at Rose.

"What do we do?"

Rose stared out the window, shaking her head. "Nothing. There's no one to save us. Not anymore."

* * *

They went back to the flat, where Rose sat in front of the news again. Harriet Jones, Prime Minister, was giving a broadcast.

"Ladies and gentlemen, if I may take a moment during this terrible time. It's hardly the Queen's speech, it's been canceled. " She turned to an aide and spoke in a stage whisper. "Did we ask about the royal family?" The aide leaned over and spoke in her ear. Harriet pressed her lips together. "Oh. They're on the roof." She turned back to the camera and continued her speech.

"This crisis is unique, and I'm afraid to say, it might get much worse. I ask you all to remain calm." Rose huffed at the telly as her mum walked in the room and the Prime Minister continued. "But I have one request. Doctor, if you're out there, we need you. I don't know what to do. If anyone knows him, if you can find him. The situation has never been more desperate-", she trailed off and took a breath. "Help us, please, Doctor. Help us. God, help us."

Rose couldn't take it anymore. She burst into tears and her mum came over to hold in her.

"He's gone, the Doctor's gone. He left me, mum. He's left me." Rose sobbed into Jackie's shoulder as the latter rocked Rose back and forth. "It's all right. I'm sorry."

All the glass in the flat shattered. Rose took up a new resolve and grabbed Mickey by the sleeve.

"Mickey, we're going to carry him. Mum, get your stuff and some food. We're going."

Mickey was taken by surprise. "Where to?"

"The TARDIS. It's the safest place on Earth."

Her mum looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "What're we going to do there?"

"Hide." "Is that is it?"

"Mum." Rose gestured to the window with her arm. A ship started to blacken the sky. "Look in the sky. There's a great, big, alien invasion and I don't know what to do, all right?" She took a breath. "I've traveled with him, I've seen all the stuff, but when I'm at home I'm useless. All we can do is run and hide. I'm sorry. Now, move!"

* * *

They came through the doors of the TARDIS, huffing and puffing, while the Doctor peacefully slept. They laid him down on the grating and Mickey walked over the console.

"Any chance you could fly this thing?", he spoke while inspecting buttons, but not touching anything.

"Not anymore, no."

"You did it before."

"I know, but it's sort of been wiped from my head." She scrunched up her face. "Like it's forbidden. Try it again and I think the Universe rips in half."

"Ah. Better not then." Mickey stepped away and sat down on the floor by Rose. "So what do we do? Just sit here?"

"That's as good as it gets."

Jackie walked in carrying a hot flask in her hands. "Right, here we go. Nice cup of tea."

Rose made a appreciative, albeit, sarcastic noise. "Mm, the solution to everything."

"Stop your moaning. I'll go get the rest of the food." She stepped out of the TARDIS to go gather the bags she left outside the flat's door.

Mickey laughed. "Tea. We're having a picnic while the world comes to an end. Very British." He got up and walked back to the console. "How does this thing work? Maybe it'll pick up a TV and we could see what's going on. Maybe we've surrendered." He fiddled with the screen. "What do you do to it?"

"I don't know. It sort of tunes itself."

"That's helpful.", he joked while staring at an odd pattern that showed up on the scanner. Rose walked over to look at it. Mickey stared at it for a while "Maybe it's a distress signal."

Rose huffed again. "A fat lot of good that's going to do."

"Are you going to be a misery all the time?"

She gave Mickey a pointed look. "Yes." Mickey rolled his eyes.

"You should look at it from my side. I'm stuck in here with your mum's cooking."

Rose looked up at the TARDIS' doors. "Where is she? I'd better give her a hand. It might start raining missiles out there."

She started walking over while Mickey sipped tea from the flask. "Tell her anything from a tin is fine."

"Oi! Why don't you tell her yourself?"

"I'm not that brave."

Rose lifted an eyebrow at him and turned to walk out the door, only to be grabbed (but not without giving out a scream) by a bone-headed alien with red eyes. They were wearing red robes and had a odd taste in jewelry. Mickey ran out of the TARDIS and accidentally dropped the open flask of tea near the Doctor on the way out.

Rose was yelling and trying to get away from the Sycorax.

"Get off me!" She looked to see Mickey running towards her and panicked. "Mickey, the door! Close the door!"

Mickey got there just in time and Harriet Jones came running in the room.

"Oh, Rose! I've got you. Oh my precious thing. Is the Doctor with you?"

Rose looked at the ground and spoke softly. "No, we're on our own."

A man, who seemed to be translating, pointed at Rose. "The yellow wolf girl. She has the clever blue box. She speaks for your planet."

Harriet looked confused. "But she can't"

"I can."

Mickey looked Rose. "Don't you dare."

"Someone's got to be the Doctor!", she exasperated.

"They'll kill you!", the Prime minister warned her.

Rose stepped forward. "That never stopped him" She looked ahead with a faltering, yet still determined face.

"I, uh, address the Sycorax according to Article Fifteen of the Shadow Proclamation. I command you to leave this world with the authority of the Slitheen Parliament of Raxacoricofallatorius, and the Gelth Confederacy, um, sanctioned by the Might Jagrafess, and, uh, oh, the Daleks! Now leave this planet in peace."

There was a moment of awkward silence before the Sycorax starting laughing.

The translator shifted on his feet. "You are very, very funny and now you're going to die."

Mickey and Harriet protested "Leave her alone!" "Don't touch her!" They were held back as the leader of the Sycorax walked over to Rose. The translator spoke again.

"Did you think you were clever with your stolen words? We are the Sycorax, we stride in the darkness. Next to us, you are but a waling child. If you are the bet your planet can offer as a champion-"

Then the leader and translator spoke, in English, at the same time. "Then you world will be gutted."

The leader spoke by himself. "And your people enslaved."

Alex, the translator, looked at him. "Hold on, that's English!"

The Prime Minister looked confused. "He's talking English."

Rose smirked at the leader with an raised eyebrow. "You're talking English."

The Sycorax looked offended. "I would never dirty my tongue with your primitive bile."

Rose smirked again. "That's English. Can you hear English?"

Mickey and Alex answered. "Yeah, that's English." "Definitely English."

"I only speak Sycoraxic!"

Rose looked confused. "If I can hear English, then it's being translated. Which means it's working." She turned to the TARDIS and smiled. "Which means'-"

The TARDIS door flew open and the Doctor walked out. "Did you miss me?"

A Sycorax cracked a whip towards him and he grabbed it and pulled it out of his hand to inspect it.

"You could have someone's eye out with that!"

"How dare-" The Sycorax was cut off as the Doctor took a club and broke it over his knee.

"You just can't get the staff. Now, you, just wait. I'm busy." He walked over to Harriet, Mickey, and Alex. "Mickey! Hello! Oh, and Harriet Jones, MP for Flydale North. Blimey it's like 'This is Your Life'!" He turned toward Rose. "Tea! That's all I needed. A good cup of tea. Superheated infusion of free radicals and tannin. Just the thing for healing the synapses." He walked in front of Rose. "Now, first things first. Be honest, how do I look?"

Rose was dumbstruck. "Er, different?"

"Good different or bad different?"

"Uh, just different."

He loomed over her, almost threateningly, while she leaned backwards a bit. He spoke slowly and emphasizing each word, like it was the most important question in the world. (Which, to be honest, probably was for him.)

"Am I ginger?"

Rose raised an eyebrow and fluttered her hand near her head. "No. Your just sorta, brown."

He turned on his heel and threw a Time Lord equivalent of a fit.

"Aw, I wanted to be ginger! I've never been ginger", he whined. He turned and pointed at Rose. "And you, Rose Tyler, fat lot of good you were! You gave up on me!" He put down his arm. "Oh, that's rude. That's the sort of man I am now? Rude. Rude not ginger."

The Prime Minister was confused. "I'm sorry, but who is this?"

The Doctor looked at her. "I'm the Doctor."

Harriet looked at Rose for conformation. Rose sighed and nodded. "He's the Doctor."

"But what happened to my Doctor? Or is it a title that's passed on?"

"I'm him, literally him. Same man, new face. Well, new everything."

"But you can't be!"

"Harriet Jones, when we we're trapped in Downing Street, the one thing that scared you wasn't aliens. It was the thought of you're mother being on her own."

"Oh my."

"Did you win the election?"

The Prime Minister smiled. "Landslide majority."

The Sycorax leader interrupted them. "If I may interrupt."

The Doctor turned back to the other alien. "Yes, sorry. Hello, big fellow."

"Who exactly are you?" "Well, that's the question."

"I demand to know who you are!"

"I don't know. See, there's the thing. I'm the Doctor, but beyond that I literally do not know who I am. It's all untested." He started walking around the room. "Am I funny? Am I sarcastic?" He looked over at Rose and winked. "Sexy? Right old misery? Life and soul? Right handed? Left handed? Gambler, fighter, coward, traitor, liar? A nervous wreck?" He started walking over to a pillar. "I mean, judging by the evidence, I've certainly got a gob." (Rose _had_ to agree with that.) "And how am I going to react when I see a great, big, threatening button? A great, big, threatening button which must not be pressed under any circumstances, am I right? Let me guess. It's some sort of control matrix. Hold on, what's feeding it?"

He opened the base of the pillar to reveal a container holding a dark red liquid. The Doctor stuck his finger in the liquid and popped in his mouth. "Blood? Yeah, definitely blood. Human blood." Harriet Jones and Rose looked green while Mickey and Alex shifted uncomfortably. "A positive with a dash of iron. Blood control! I haven't seen blood control for years. You're controlling all the A positive, which leaves us with a big stinking problem. I don't really know who I am, so I don't know when to stop. So if I see a great, big, threatening button which should never, ever, ever be pressed-" He smiled at the Sycorax. "Then I just want to do this." He hit the button which stopped the people under mind control.

"You've killed them!", Alex shouted out.

The Doctor looked at the Sycorax leader. "What do you think, big fellow? Are they dead?"

"We allow them to live."

The Doctor snorted at his response. "Allow? You've no choice. It's only blood control, a cheap bit of voodoo. Yeah, scares the pants off of you, but that's as far as it goes. It's like like hypnosis. You can't hypnotize them to death."

"Blood control was just one form on conquest. I can summon the armada and take this world by force."

"Yeah, yeah, you could. But why? Look at these people." The Doctor swept his arm towards the humans in the room. "Consider their potential. From the day they arrive on the planet and blinking, step into the sun, there is more to see than can ever be seen. More to do than-" He shook his hand and waved his hand. "Oh, sorry, that's The Lion King. But the point still stands. Leave them alone."

"Or what?" "Or-" The Doctor ran over and grabbed a sword from one of the guards. "I challenge you."

All the Sycorax laughed. "That struck a chord. The sanctified rules of combat still apply, am I right?"

"You stand as this world's champion?"

"Thank you. I have no idea who I am, but you just summed me up."

Rose rolled her eyes as the Doctor threw his dressing gown to her.

_'Well, he inherited modesty from his past self'_, she sarcastically thought.

"So, you accept my challenge, or are you just a _cranak per casacree salvak_?", the Doctor insulted the Sycorax.

"For the planet?" "For the planet."

They clashed swords as Rose yelled out. "Look out!"

The Doctor sarcastically thanked her. "Oh, yeah! That helps. Wouldn't have though of it myself, thanks." Rose normally would have rolled her eyes, but this time she was to worried about the Doctor to do so.

* * *

The Sycorax had the Doctor backed up to the edge of the roof. He knocked him down and cut off his hand, which fell to the ground with his sword, and Rose let out an undignified squeak. His hand grew back however and Rose managed to find another sword.

"Doctor!", she yelled and tossed him the sword.

"So I'm still the Doctor then?"

"No arguments from me!"

The Doctor smiled and turned back to the Sycorax. "Want to know the best bit? This new hand, it's a fighting hand." He managed to disarm the leader and push him down on the edge of the roof.

"I win."

"Then kill me."

"I'll spare your life if you'll take this champion's command. Leave this planet and never return. What do you say?"

"Yes."

"Swear on the blood of your species."

"I swear."

"There we are then. Thanks for that. Cheers, big fellow!"

Harriet Jones and Rose cheered. "Bravo!" "That says it all. Bravo!"

The Doctor turned to them with a smile. "Not bad for a man in his jim-jams."

Rose came over and helped him put on his dressing gown. "Very Arthur Dent. Now, there was a nice man." He smiled at Rose, who smiled back. "Hold on, what have I got in here?" He stuck his hand in the robe. "A satsuma? Ah, that friend of your mothers. He does like his snacks doesn't he? But doesn't that just sum up Christmas? You go through all those presents and right at the end, tucked away at the bottom, there's always one stupid old satsuma. Who wants a satsuma?"

The Sycorax leader was heading towards the Doctor's back with his sword. The Doctor noticed and threw the satsuma in his hand at one of the ship's controls. A wing flew out and hit the Sycorax leader, who fell over the edge of the building.

The Doctor looked over the edge of the building. "No second chances. I'm that sort of man."

* * *

The Doctor was finishing up his instructions for the Sycorax.

"By the ancient rites of combat, I forbid you to scavenge here for the rest of time. And when go you back to the stars and tell others of this planet, when you tell them of it's riches. It's people. It's potential. When you talk of the Earth, then make sure that you tell them this. It is defended."

* * *

"Where are we?" Rose asked after they were beamed down. _Very Spock._  
Mickey looked around. "We're just off Bloxom Road. We're just round the corner, we did it!"  
"Wait a minute, wait a minute.", the Doctor said.

They watched the spaceship as it started to fly away.  
Mickey and Rose cheered them on. "Go on, my son!" "Yeah! Don't come back!" "It is defended!"  
Rose hugged Mickey and Alex. While the Doctor and Harriet Jones hugged.

The Prime Minister turned to the Doctor. "Are there many more out there?"  
"Oh, not just Sycorax. Hundreds of species. Thousands of them. And the human race is drawing attention to itself. Every day you're sending out probes and messages and signals. This planet's so noisy. You're getting noticed more and more. You'd better get used to it."

Harriet looked worried as Jackie ran up to the group.

"Rose!"  
"Mum!"  
"Oh, talking of trouble.", the Doctor mumbled.

"You did it, Rose!" Jackie embraced her daughter while Alex answered a phone call.  
"You did it too, Mum! It was the tea. Fixed his head."  
The Doctor smiled. "That was all I needed, cup of tea."  
"I said so.', Jackie said smugly.  
"Look at him." Jackie inspected the Doctor.  
"Is it him, though? Is it really the Doctor?" She noticed Harriet Jones. "Oh my goodness, it's the bleeding Prime Minister!"  
The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Come here, you." Jackie, Rose, and the Doctor all had a group hug.  
Jackie started hovering over the Doctor again. "Are you better?" "I am, yeah."

Alex held the phone away from his face and talked to the Prime Minister. "It's a message from Torchwood. They say they're ready." "Tell them to fire."

Jackie, satisfied with the Doctor's answer looked to Rose . "You left me."

"I'm sorry." Rose looked at the pavement and scraped it with her foot. "We didn't mean too."  
Jackie sighed. "I had all the food." Rose and the Doctor chuckled.

Alex went back to his phone call. "Fire at will."

Everyone turned to Alex and then noticed green beams in the sky. They hit the Sycorax ships and dissipated them.

Rose turned to Alex. "What is that? What's happening?"

The Doctor, still staring where the ships were, spoke gravely. "That was murder."  
Harriet Jones looked at him. "That was defense. It's adapted from alien technology. A ship that fell to Earth ten years ago."  
The Doctor turned to her. "But they were leaving!"  
"You said yourself, Doctor, they'd go back to the stars and tell others about the Earth. I'm sorry, but you're not here all the time. You come and go. It happened today. Mister Llewellyn and the Major, they were murdered. They died right in front of me while you were sleeping. In which case we have to defend ourselves."  
The Doctor sarcastically remarked, "Britain's Golden Age."  
"It comes with a price."

The Doctor was mad now. "I gave them the wrong warning. I should've told them to run as fast as they can, run and hide because the monsters are coming. The human race."  
"Those are the people I represent. I did it on their behalf."  
He stared her down. "Then I should have stopped you."  
"What does that make you, Doctor? Another alien threat?"  
He bore into her eyes. "Don't challenge, Harriet Jones, because I'm a completely new man. I could bring down your Government with a single word."  
Harriet raised an eyebrow. "You're the most remarkable man I've ever met, but I don't think you're quite capable of that."

The Doctor shook his head. "No, you're right. Not a single word, just six."

"I don't think so."  
"Six words."  
"Stop it!"  
"Six."

The Doctor walked over to Alex and whispered in his ear. "Don't you think she looks tired?"

Alex looked at him and then back to Harriet.

The Doctor, Rose, Jackie, and Mickey left.

* * *

The Doctor went to the TARDIS to dress while the Tylers and Mickey started Christmas dinner. He didn't really know what he wanted, but he was sure he'd never wear that hideous leather jacket again. He decided against a Casanova-like outfit and found a pinstriped suit instead. He came back after putting it on and looked in a mirror. He fixed his tie and put on a pair of converse trainers. He grabbed his Janis Joplin coat and ran out of the TARDIS.

They finished off their night with dinner and opening crackers. Jackie's friend Bev called and told them to look outside, which they did. The dark night was clear with stars as streaks of light crossed the sky. White flakes fluttered down and collected on the ground. Adults stood around talking while children ran around in the 'snow'.

"Oh, it's beautiful.", gushed Rose, who was pointing in the sky, "What are they, meteors?"  
The Doctor didn't seem happy, "It's the spaceship breaking up in the atmosphere. This isn't snow, it's ash."  
Rose frowned. "Ok, not so beautiful."  
The Doctor looked around at all the people outside.

"This is a brand new planet Earth. No denying the existence of aliens now. Everyone saw it. Everything's new."  
Rose looked up at him, suddenly serious. "And what about you? What are you going to do next?"  
"Well, back to the TARDIS. Same old life."  
Rose waited a few moments and looked down. "On your own?"  
"Why, don't you want to come?"

Rose didn't look up. "Well, yeah."  
"Do you, though?"  
She looked up. "Yeah!"  
The Doctor looked around again. "I just thought- Because I changed."  
Rose looked back down and sighed. "Yeah, I thought, because you changed you might not want me anymore."

He looked at her as if not sure what to say. She looked sad and a little bit confused. Who wouldn't be? The poor girl. He had gone off a completely changed, not even preparing her for it, and then went and become a dead weight for most of the day. He felt bad.

"I'd love you to come."  
Rose grinned up at him. For real this time. "Okay."

He smiled back.

Mickey and Jackie came up behind them. "You're never going to stay, are you?", he asked Rose.  
Rose shook her head. "There's just so much out there. So much to see. I've got to."  
"Yeah."

Jackie looked them both over. "Well, I reckon you're mad, the pair of you. It's like you go looking for trouble."  
The Doctor grinned. "Trouble's just the bits in-between. It's all waiting out there, Jackie, and it's brand new to me. All those planets, creatures, and horizons. I haven't seem them yet! Not with these eyes. And it is going to be fantastic."

Rose said her goodbyes to her mum and Mickey and walked back to the TARDIS with her Doctor.

_Her Doctor? When did that happen?_

Rose skipped along with his long strides. "So, where're we going to go first?"  
The Doctor stopped in front of the TARDIS and pointed at different places in the starry sky.

"Er, that way. No, hold on. That way." He finally rested at a spot and looked down at Rose.  
"That way?", Rose asked incredulously.  
The Doctor smiled at her and offered his left hand.  
"That hand of yours still gives me the creeps.", Rose said seriously as he wiggled his fingers.

She took hold of it anyway.

* * *

**A/N: ***sniff* I might frame the ending. Jussttt kiiiddiing. Reviews?


	3. Chapter 3: Nightmares in New Earth

**A/N:**Ah! Here we Canon stuff. Some TARDIS conservation and fluff. Not to mention some hurt/comfort. Rose can cook in my stories, so yeah. And thank you guest for leaving a review! I like the fluffy ending too. :)

* * *

After the ash finished falling from the sky, Rose and the Doctor went back into the TARDIS. Rose stopped in the TARDIS doorway when that strange, yet beautiful song filled her mind again. She wasn't sure if it was playing out loud, or if was just in her head. She wanted to make sure. Who knew? After all the crazy things she'd been through, she wouldn't be surprised at all if she were a bit mental.

"Do you hear that, Doctor?" she questioned him as he made his way to the console.

"Hear what?"

"You don't hear anything... different?" She held a poker face while mentally kicking herself for asking.

'_Way to go, girl. Now he's gonna think you're crazy.'_

The Doctor looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Uh, no."

Awkward silence.

'_I probably just need some sleep. I haven't sleep for real since the day before yesterday_', she spoke to herself.

"Nevermind. I just need to go to bed. Haven't slept for a couple days." She picked up the purple bag she'd been carrying and headed towards her room.

"Rose", the Doctor called out as she started down the hall.

She turned to face him. "Yeah?"

He smiled at her. "Goodnight."

She smiled back at him. "'Night"

* * *

The TARDIS put her room down a few more doors down the hall than it had been before Christmas. She swung open the door and hit a button on the wall, causing the lights to brighten. She looked around at the deep purple walls and out the windows that held the image of space. She wasn't sure if they were actually in space or not, but it looked real enough. The purple was different though. The walls used to be pink, but she liked this better. She glanced at the unmade bed. It still had it's white sheets and pink duvet. Her dresser and desk while still covered in make-up, outfits she'd picked out but never did wear, and a general mishmash of items from different planets. She hung her bag on the chair in front of her desk and headed over to the dresser to pick out some pajamas. She finally decided on a pair of pink capris that were covered in little stars and a matching pink shirt.

Rose searched the bathroom for something different, but the only odd thing she could find was the definite lack of dirty clothes and towels. Thanks heavens for the TARDIS. She had expected the TARDIS to change the paint (or was it paint?) or at least something else in the room. Shrugging it off, she changed in her pajamas, brushed her teeth, and took off her makeup. She headed back into the bedroom and threw all the clothes on her bed off and onto the floor. She climbed in and hit a button near her bed and the lights dimmed. She rolled over and stared into space, literally.

An hour later, she still was laying there, not able to sleep. She was thinking about the Doctor's regeneration. She knew in her head that he was the same man, but he was still so different that she couldn't quite believe it deep inside. It was really confusing. Why didn't the Doctor tell her about this before? It would have made it easier if she was prepared.

"For a Lord of Time, he sure is a git sometimes.", she mumbled to the darkness.

_'I knew how you feel', _a female voice spoke.

Rose shot up to sit in bed. As far as she knew, there wasn't another woman on board.

"Who's there?", she not-so-quietly whispered.

_'Sorry, it's me. The TARDIS.'_

"I can hear you talk? I thought only the Doctor can do that.", Rose questioned.

_'Well, theoretically speaking, any telepathic being that I allow can hear me speak. '_

"But I'm not telepathic!"

_'That's the thing. You are.'_

Rose was genuinely confused now. How could she be telepathic? She hadn't been in any weird science experiments or been given a weird alien drink or anything else like that. "How? How did that happen?'

_'You'll remember soon enough. I want you to remember yourself, instead of me telling you.'_

"Okay. So, can I talk to you in my head like the Doctor does?"

_'Yes, why don't you try it?'_

Rose sat quietly in thought for a moment. She was mental. First this weird song (That was still there.) and know make-believing she could hear the TARDIS talk. She fell back on her pillow and stared at the ceiling and then over to the alarm clock on her nightstand. It said it was two in the morning. She needed to sleep. Badly.

_'Your not mentally insane and you can hear me'_, the TARDIS laughed in her mind.

Ok, so now the TARDIS read her thoughts and be in her mind. Maybe she wasn't crazy. She focused on the TARDIS and tried to speak (or was it think) to her.

'_Like this?_', Rose thought.

The TARDIS chuckled. '_Yep.'_

_'Does the Doctor know I can do this?'_

_'No, and I rather not tell him now, because he'll freak out and run you though a bunch of scans and tests. There's nothing wrong with you, I checked. He won't believe me though.'_

Rose sighed. She was a bit mad that the TARDIS was reading her thoughts and scanning her without consent.

_'Ok, I won't tell him either. I'd rather not be a pin cushion right now. Do you have to read my thoughts and check me over though?'_

_'Sorry. I'll stop. I just needed to make sure you were ok.'_

_'It's alright. Wait, does any of this have to do with what happened on the gamestation? I can't remember anything. And there's this song playing in my head, it's familiar, but I don't know what it is.'_

_'Yes, it does have to do with what happened there, but even before that you were slightly telepathic. Just not enough to talk to me. And that's my song your hearing. It's the sound of the Time Vortex. You've heard it before, you just don't remember.'_

_'Ok. Wait, so I've always been telepathic?'_

_'A little bit, yeah. I could tell the first time you walked in.'_

_'That's weird. I've never noticed it before.'_

_'You never would've unless someone told you, and you practiced with it.'_

_'You "practice" telepathy?'_

_'Yes, you can strengthen it that way.'_

_'Ok, that's cool.'_

Rose rolled over and stared out the window again. She had been telepathic her entire life. Her mom would freak at that prospect. Then again, so would the Doctor. She struggled trying to remember what happened on the gamestation, but came up with nothing. It was like amnesia. And the two people who knew what happened wouldn't tell her. She decided to talk to the TARDIS again.

_'It's rather nice to have another girl to talk to.'_

The TARDIS laughed in her mind. _'It is. No matter what species, men are never ones for girl talk.'_

Rose laughed with her. '_Yeah. What does the Doctor do all night? I've never seen him sleep, except after he regenerated.', _a hint of sadness coloured her voice.

_'Unwire me and rewire me mostly. Sometimes he takes a nap or reads. And I break stuff so he can fix it sometimes. And don't worry, he's still the same man. Only his personality and looks have changed. He still has all the same memories and feelings.'_

_'I feel bad for making him wait for something to do. We humans have to bloody sleep all the time.'_

_'It's ok. He might get bored, but it's good for him. He'd run himself into the ground if he didn't rest. He likes you anyway. He doesn't really mind that you sleep so much.'_

_'He does?'_

The TARDIS giggled out loud. The Doctor heard it while working on the underside of the console.

"What's so funny, girl?", he asked, clearly confused.

'_Nothing'_, she squeaked.

The Doctor rolled his eyes and went back to work and the TARDIS went back to talking with Rose.

_'Yes, he does. It's pretty obvious. I don't think he quite realises it himself, though. He will though. And I'll make him talk when he does.'_

_'Ha. Well, just let him be about it. I don't want to make things weird or ruin our friendship. I don't really know how I feel about him yet.'_

_'Ok. I won't tease him too much. You better get some sleep, Rose. It's almost a quarter till three, your time.'_

Rose looked back at her clock._ 'Oh, yeah, I better get some sleep. What do I call you? Ship, TARDIS, or what?'_

_'TARDIS will do. The Doctor calls me "old girl". Not really a compliment, but I put up with it.', _the TARDIS chuckled.

_'Ok. 'Night TARDIS.'_

_'Goodnight Rose.'_

Rose rolled to the other side of the bed as the TARDIS began playing a gallifreyan lullaby, putting her to a fitful sleep.

* * *

_She saw the words on the playground equipment. Bad Wolf. It meant something, but what? Mickey was chasing after her. Why was she worried and scared? Where was the Doctor? _

_They were trying to open the console. They couldn't do it. It wouldn't open. She wouldn't be able to get back. But then her mum came with a truck. Where did her mom get a truck? _

_The console opened and the TARDIS' door shut. Rose looked into the Time Vortex. The golden energy came through her eyes and into her mind, It filled her soul with a wonderful burning feeling. It hurt, yet felt so right at the same time. _

_The TARDIS was speaking to her. She was taking her to the Doctor. _

_The door opened and her Doctor, the old Doctor, was there, being threatened by the Daleks._

_"What have you done?", he yelled._

_"I looked into the TARDIS, and the TARDIS looked into me"._

_"You looked into the Time Vortex, Rose! No one's meant to see that."_

_"EXTERMINATE!"_

_She stopped them. She stopped a Dalek._

_"I am the Bad Wolf. I create myself. I scatter them in time and space, a message to lead myself here."_

_She played with the words, Bad Wolf, and sent them through time and space. A message for herself. A message to help her save the universe._

_"Rose. You've got to stop this. Stop this now. You've got the entire vortex running through your head. You're going to burn."_

_"I want you safe, my Doctor. Protected from the false god."_

_The Emperor spoke."You cannot hurt me. I am immortal."_

_Her anger directed towards the Emperor. "You are tiny. I can see the whole of time and space. Every single atom of your existence, and I divide them. Everything must come to dust. All things. Everything dies. The Time War ends."_

_The Daleks were gone. They flittered away in gold dust. She killed them all. She had committed genocide. She ended the Time War, but she killed them all. She killed them._

* * *

Rose woke up with a start.

Was that what happened at the gamestation? Had she really looked into the heart of the TARDIS? Is that why she could speak to her and hear her song? Did she really turn all the Daleks to dust?

She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and got out of bed. She whimpered and shivered from the lack of warm blankets. The TARDIS turned up the heat in her room.

"Thanks", Rose said as she looked to the ceiling.

_'No problem'_, the TARDIS spoke in her head.

S_o I guess talking to the TARDIS last night wasn't a part of my dream._

Rose yawned and pulled her dressing gown around her and put on the fuzzy socks her mum got her for Christmas. She headed towards the kitchen. A pot of tea and a talk with the TARDIS, and maybe the Doctor, was in order.

* * *

The Doctor pulled himself up and out of the grating. It was about six forty-seven in the morning for Rose. She would be up taking a shower, or maybe getting a cup of tea. He headed down the hall, towards the kitchen, to check.

He came through the doorway of the kitchen as the teapot was whistling and she putting teabags in their mugs. He smirked as he took in her appearance. Her blonde hair was mussed up and pushed behind her ears so it was out of her way. Her face of free of the makeup the Doctor didn't think she needed. Not that he would tell her that. (Why was he thinking about make-up free companion faces anyway?) Her eyes still looked a bit sleepy. She was wearing a plain, pink v-neck shirt and pink capris covered in stars. On top of this, she had a fluffy pink robe she'd gotten in 5012, from a planet that had invented the softest material known to the universe. It cost a fortune, but she had gently reminded of the unlimited credit stick, and he gave in, of course. He looked down at her feet, expecting them to be bare, but they were covered in fuzzy, light blue socks with white snowflakes. All in all, she was her cute, sleep-mussed self.

"Didn't your mum get you those socks?", he spoke out loud.

Rose jumped at the sudden noise and spilled hot water from the teapot on her other hand.

"Ow ow ow ow ow ow!", she hurried to put the pot back on the stove as the Doctor rushed over.

"Sorry", he spoke as he helped her put her hand under cold water from the sink. "I didn't know it would scare you so much."

"I was surprised, not scared, you daft alien. Not the first time it's happened. I'm just not used to your new voice yet." The Doctor frowned. "Do you want to pour water for tea?"

The Doctor went over and poured the water and brought the mugs over the table. He went back to the counters to clean up the spill. He peered over her shoulder to look at her hand.

"I have some burn cream that'll take care of that in a few minutes. Be right back."

He left the room and Rose sighed. She hadn't meant to bring up his regeneration. After talking to the TARDIS last night, she felt better about it, but still was uneasy. She turned off the tap and gingerly dried her hands. She put three slices of bread in the toaster and got out the butter. She had just gotten a pan out for eggs when the Doctor came back in.

"Okay, here we are. Took me a mo to find it. I really ought to clean up med bay. It's a mess in there. Good thing we don't use it often. Hopefully we don't need to use before it's organized again. Why don't you have a cold washcloth on your hand? Don't you know that every thirty second that goes by without you taking the heat puts it at more risk for severe blistering? And if the blister breaks-" He went on a rant about burns and blisters that would eventually pop and she would catch some alien disease through it that would cause her to break out in hives and have a cough for weeks and the cure could only be found on some planet in the future.

At first Rose was startled at his rambling, as it was not normal for his last self. Put she eventually decided he wasn't going to stop and got over the initial shock and started making the eggs.

"Are you even listening to me, Rose?"

"I heard the part about cleaning med bay."

She got out two plates and buttered the toast.

"Hummph. I suppose you're going to hold me to it?"

"Well, I could help you if you like."

She started put the eggs on their respective plates.

"Aren't you going to put this on your hand?", he asked holding up the white container of burn cream.

"You're the doctor, Doctor. Though I doubt you've actually been to medical school." She gave him the famous, teasing Rose-Tyler grin.

"I'll have you know that I pass as a doctor on 76.2301% of the planets I've been to."

_''Well, he still has his ego', _Rose told the TARDIS, who laughed in her mind.

The Doctor picked up the plates and took them to the table as Rose got out silverware. She turned to grab the plates and noticed them at the table with the Doctor. She was slightly bewildered. This was weird. The old Doctor was not a morning person. He would just sit at the table drinking his tea, not saying anything until he thanked Rose, who would make his breakfast and set it in front of him. Then he usually wouldn't say anything else until his plate was cleared. Rose blinked at the Doctor.

"What?", he asked.

"Nothing. Well, you took the plates to the table."

"Yeah."

"And you won't stop talking."

"Does it bother you?"

Rose laughed. "No, I like it better than mister I-hate-mornings-so-just-shush-up-and-give-me-my-tea."

The Doctor looked accosted. "Was I that bad?"

Rose laughed harder. "Worse." She saw his pouting face and laughed. "Just kidding, Doctor. I didn't mind putting up with you." She smiled encouragingly at him, but then her face fell.

"And you got me the burn cream."

The Doctor became confused at this one. "Why does that surprise you?"

Rose sat down at the table and fiddled with her robe.

"Usually you would just leave it alone unless I complained about it. Then you'd tell me where it is if I asked for something to help."

"Huh. Sorry about that. I was grumpy in my last regeneration" He looked rather disgusted.

Rose was quick to assure him. "But that was for little things. For big things you took care of me. Remember when I broke my arm at that the one festival on Pulida? You wouldn't want me to turn into a wimp." She saw his scowl and tried to reassure him. "I wouldn't have changed you for anything."

The Doctor shoved some eggs in his mouth and looked down at the last statement.

Blimey, she'd done it again. She drank some tea, trying to think how to fix that mess up, but the Doctor spoke first, quietly.

"I'm still the same man, Rose. I have the same memories. I just have a different face and personality."

Rose sighed and took his free hand on the table. "I know, Doctor. Sorry for saying something like that. I know your the same man. I just- Just have to get used to your new face." She looked up and smirked. "And hair", she added jokingly.

He smiled back at her. She kept talking. "And if it's any help, I love it."

"So we're on the same page then." They both laughed at finished their breakfast while the Doctor told her stories of places he wanted to take her.

* * *

After breakfast, Rose took and shower and blow dried her hair. She pulled out a purple and blue shirt and black pants. Somewhere in their conservation at breakfast he had come up with the perfect place to take her, but wouldn't tell her where. While putting on her make-up she talked to the TARDIS.

_'Do you know where he's taking me?'_

_'No. Not yet at least.'_, the TARDIS replied.

_'Some help you are'_, Rose laughed.

_'I don't exactly read his thoughts.'_

_'That would be scary, the way he goes on and on and on.'_

The TARDIS chuckled. '_You better hurry, he's still impatient in this regeneration too.'_

_'Ok'_

Rose put on some black trainers and grabbed a purple jacket on the way out her door. She meet the Doctor in the console room, where he was practically bouncing with excitement.

"So, great Doctor, where are we going?"

He turned and smiled at her while running around the console pressing buttons and pulling levers as he went.

"Further than we've ever gone before."

* * *

After picking up themselves up off the floor, the Doctor ran to the TARDIS' door.

"Blimey. You're driving leaves me wanting more", Rose said sarcastically, while brushing herself off.

"I'd like to see you try flying the TARDIS."

"Maybe I will. If you teach me."

He looked at her and lifted his eyebrow and turned to open the door.

The pinstriped-clad Doctor stepped out with his coat billowing behind him and swept his arm across the landscape.

"It's the year five billion and twenty three. We're in the galaxy M87, and this? This is New Earth."

Rose stared across the river, mouth slightly agape. The sky was a light blue and seemed to stretch on and on. A large, tall city stood on the other side of the river while cars zoomed overhead. "That's just-"

The Doctor smiled at her lack of words. "Not bad. Not bad at all."

Rose jumped with a face-spiltting grin. "That's amazing. I'll never get used to this. Never. Different ground beneath my feet, different sky." She stopped jumping and looked around. "What's that smell?"  
The Doctor picked some of the grass that was growing beneath their feet. "Apple grass."  
"Apple grass."  
"Yeah."  
Rose grabbed his free hand and smiled up at him. "It's beautiful. Oh, I love this. Can I just say, traveling with you, I love it."

The Doctor smiled back at her "Me too. Come on." He pulled her along to the edge of the river. He laid out his coat for them to lie on. He went on to explain the city.

"So, the year five billion, the sun expands, the Earth gets roasted."

Rose looked over at him. "That was our first date."

The Doctor moved his head to look at her. "We had chips." She grinned and he continued his story. "So anyway, planet gone, all rocks and dust, but the human race lives on, spread out across the stars. Soon as the Earth burns up, oh yeah, they get all nostalgic, big revival movement, but then find this place. Same size as the Earth, same air, same orbit. Lovely. Call goes out, the humans move in."

"What's the city called?"  
"New New York."

Rose raised her eyebrow in disbelief. "Oh, come on."

The Doctor shook his head. "It is! It's the city of New New York." Then he got off on a tangent. "Strictly speaking, it's the fifteenth New York since the original, so that makes it New New New New New New New New New New New New New New York." Rose rose up on her elbows and laughed at him.

"What?!"  
"You're so different."  
"New New Doctor."

They were to busy laughing to notice the familiar, metal spider behind them. If they had, the day would have been shorter, not to mention less embarrassing.

* * *

**A/N: **Off they go. We all know what happens so I'm not gonna write out every episode.


	4. Chapter 4: From Parties to Scotland

A/N: Wow! 196 visitors, 14 followers, 3 favorites, and a review! This first part of the story is turning out to be a in-betweener, but no worries. There will be an original adventure right before I tear your hearts out. :P Ahem, anyways. Sorry about slow updates. School and all that rubbish.

* * *

Rose and the Doctor stood by the TARDIS door as Cassandra, in Chip's body walked over to past Cassandra. Talking and laughter filled the room as waiters brought around hors d'oeuvres and champagne. The party was filled with well-dressed people and seemed to be centered around past Cassandra.

Cassandra-in-Chip walked over to herself. "Excuse me, Lady Cassandra?"

Past Cassandra didn't even look her way. "I'm sorry, I don't need anything right now. I'm fine, thank you."

"No, I just wanted to say you look beautiful."

Cassandra looked down at her and put on a smile. "Well, that's very kind, you strange little thing. Thank you very much."

Cassandra-in-Chip grabbed her arm. "_I mean it._" Past Cassandra studied Chip's face. "You look beautiful."

Cassandra smiled for real. Somebody still thought she was beautiful. "Thank you."

The Doctor pulled Rose back into the TARDIS after Chip's body collapsed. He walked around the console slowly, pressing buttons here and there as he went, setting the TARDIS adrift in space. Rose sat down in a armchair quietly.

"Doctor?"

The Doctor knew what was coming. "Yeah?"

"When did you know it wasn't me?"

The Doctor looked at the display screen of the TARDIS and scratched the back of his neck. He was getting in dangerous territory here. Then again, it wasn't _his_ fault. She was the one who had to break the _simple_ rule of not wandering off. He decided the truth would have to do. "Well, uh, for sure? When you didn't care about the humans in the basement."

Rose groaned and planted her face on the arm of the chair. He thought that _she_ had acted that way and had kissed him. She would never kiss someone like that. Especially the Doctor. (And if someone did that to _her_, it would bring back bad memories.) The way Cassandra had flaunted her body around was just- _Ugh._

The Doctor looked up at her, his face a mix of confusion and amusement. He knew he'd have to get to the bottom of this. He couldn't have companions breaking the number one rule of wandering off and having other entities possessing them left and right. It was rather annoying. He sighed. "What's the matter, Rose?"

She mumbled something in response.

"What?"

She moved her head so he could hear her. "I'd never act _or kiss_ like that."

He smirked. "You don't want kiss me?"

"What? No, I mean, I mean- I's not that I _wouldn't _kiss you, but I mean not that I want to. I just if I ever _did_ I wouldn't do it like _that. _I mean, she just grabbed your head! I would at least ask, or wait for you, I mean, you probably wouldn't _want_ to kiss me, but if you did. I-" Rose, in pink up to her ears, stopped her incoherent rambling at the Doctor's laugh.

"It's ok, Rose. I know now that it was Cassandra, not you."

"'Kay" She sheepishly scooted back in the chair, still pink.

The Doctor turned back to console grinning. I was funny seeing her embarrassed. He really shouldn't tease her, but it was fun. Then it came out of his mouth unexpectedly. "How _would_ you kiss me than?"

Rose sat gaping at him while he stared down the TARDIS monitor. The TARDIS sat back and watched. This was going to be interesting. Rose closed her mouth and thought about what he had just said for a moment. He was joking around. Winding her up.

She'd show him.

She smirked at him as he turned around to brush off the joke. He didn't expect to see her smiling, and he wasn't sure if that was a good sign or not. She sauntered over to him. He looked back at the screen and back at her. Rose looked up at him, not even trying to hide her smile. "What's that?", she asked in feigned innocence.

"I, er, said, howwouldyoukissthen. I didn't mean- I-", he stuttered. She had her hands on his shoulders now.

Not good. Wasn't there a rule or something about companions kissing the Doctor?

"Rose-"

But she was already leaning up towards him. He closed his eyes. It couldn't be _that_ bad really. After all is _was_ Rose, herself, this time. Not Cassandra-in-Rose. He waited for it, but it never came. He opened his eyes to see Rose laughing at him. She pecked him on the jaw and scrambled towards the kitchen.

"Last one to the kitchen makes tea!"

"Oi! Cheater!"

* * *

The Doctor got out from under the console and stretched. His sleeves were rolled up and his hair was sticking out every which way. It was two hours after Rose's normal bedtime and he really didn't to wake her, but he had thought of something he should have done right after they left Cassandra in the past.

He walked down the hall to her room and knocked. She probably was asleep since he didn't hear anything. He stuck his head in. It didn't look like anybody was in bed. He tapped a button on the wall to turn up the lights. Everything was the same as it was last time he was in here. Except the walls were a different colour.

"Rose?"

He walked over to the bathroom and knocked. No one was in there either. He went out and checked the kitchen, garden, and pool room before coming into the library, where he found her sitting in front of the fire with her legs crossed. She clutched a cup of tea and was contently staring into the fire. He looked at her more closely. She was deep in thought. Analyzing the day's occurrences, no doubt. The fire flickered and danced in her tired eyes. She looked older than she was like this. No Rose Tyler grin, not a giggle or laugh, just sitting in thought. She had seen wonders and horrors the universe, yet for some reason she still stuck around. Maybe see had seen more of the world before she came to him than he originally thought. He shook his head of his wayward thoughts and sat down next to her. She looked over and gave him a small smile.

"Hello."

"Hello."

"Do you need something, Doctor?"

"Rose, about Cassandra today, I need to see inside your mind. To see if she left anything that could hurt you."

Rose gave him a quizzical look and sighed. She really didn't want him inside her mind. She had things in there that he didn't know about and she didn't want him to see, not yet anyways.

The Doctor could see her hesitation, which he expected. Cassandra had just broken into her mind, not even asking, and starting saying things Rose didn't want to share, reading her thoughts, and making fun of her.

"If there's anything you don't want me to see, just imagine putting it behind a door. I won't see it then."

She smiled at him nervously. "'Kay"

They turned towards each other, still sitting on the ground. She closed her eyes and imagined doors around the things she didn't want him to see. Including her being able to speak to the TARDIS. He placed his hands on her temples and closed his eyes.

He was a bit confused when he entered her mind. He expected it to be pink or some other colour human girls loved, but instead it was a soft, almost translucent blue with tiny strand of gold here and there. He walked down the blue hallway. There were several doors. There was a dark blue one with a picture of the TARDIS on it (he had no idea what could be in there). A small white door came next. It was partly open and he could see glimpses of a small Rose, who seemed to be scared. On the opposite wall there was a black door. It was huge and had a rather large padlock on it. Further down the hall he came to a large, airy room. The events of the day were scattered about on a wall . Rose was standing in the middle of the room, focusing on the party where past Cassandra was at. The Doctor could feel her emotions of worry in the room, but there was also trust. Trust in him, he noted. She trusted him so easily it seemed. Even after all the horrible things he had done, not that she knew of them, of course. He stopped his wondering thoughts and looked around for any sort of residue or some wrinkle Cassandra had left. He left after not finding anything.

Rose could feel him leave her mind and she opened her eyes.

"Did you find anything?", she asked.

"Nope."

She looked back at the fire and bit her lip nervously. "You didn't see anything did you?"

The Doctor looked confused for a moment. "Oh, no. There were doors. One was open though."

She shifted and picked her tea back up. "What was in it?"

"It looked like it was from when you were younger."

She didn't say anything back to him right away. She was relieved it wasn't Jimmy Stone that he saw. Whenever someone found out about him they wanted to know the whole story, and although it was three or four years ago, it hurt and brought back horrible memories and nightmares.

"What was it?", he broke the silence.

"Oh, probably about one of mum's boyfriend or bullies at school." She causally sipped her tea.

"Which one?"

"Does it matter?"

"Yes, it does matter Rose. You were scared. I could feel it."

"Getting personal, are we?", she commented dryly.

He glared back. Rose sipped her tea and looked back up at him.

"I don't really remember his name. I was, I don't know- seven, maybe? Anyway, he was supposed to be watching me while mum had night shift somewhere. Of course, being a bloke, he didn't babysit very well." The Doctor rolled his eyes, but she kept staring into the fire, reliving a moment from long ago. "I went out and played with some friends and didn't keep track of the time. I guess he had a few drinks while I was out. I came back late and he was pretty mad." She hid her face behind the mug again. Maybe he just let drop the subject there, but being the Doctor, he didn't.

"What happened?"

"He just sort of, uh, hit me around a bit", she lied. There was no way she'd tell him what happened. He probably track down the guy and throw him out in space.

He could tell she was lying. He was good at reading people. It hurt to know that she didn't completely trust him.

"What really happened?"

"Ugh, fine. I had to go the the A&E." He went to say something, but she stopped him. "It was long time ago."

"Why would Jackie go out with someone like that? Sorry, it just doesn't seem like your mum."

"You really think that she would go with a drunk, Doctor? She didn't know about him." She paused to turn towards the fire, bringing up her knees to hug them. "Everyone make mistakes, Doctor. Even me. You can't change things you've already done. You just have to learn from them."

They both sat quietly in thought until the Doctor noticed a lone tear falling down Rose's face.

"Rose, what's the matter?"

"Cassandra."

"I know, Rose, but if you wouldn't wander off-"

"I didn't wander off, Doctor! The elevator took me to that floor without asking!"

"Oh."

"I was just thinking about her. She was just insecure like any other girl, you know."

The Doctor gaped at her mockingly. "Are you sympathizing with her now?"

"I'm serious, Doctor. All those years she spent alone. All those years and no one told her she was beautiful. She didn't feel like she was worth anything to anybody. It's horrible to feel like that."

The Doctor held her as she cried silently, the stress of the day wearing her down. The fire slowly died down as laid her on the couch and went back to the console room.

* * *

Rose hopped into the the room wearing a pink shirt, mini dungarees, and tights.

"Will this do?", she asked with an excited smile.

He raised his eyebrow. "In the late 1970s?" He gave a huff and went back towards the TARDIS screen, a CD in hand. "You'd be better off in a bin bag. Here, listen to this. Ian Dury and the Blockheads. Number one in 1979!"

She rolled her eyes. "Your a punk."

He gave her a manic grin. "It's good to be a lunatic."

"That's exactly what you are. A big ol' punk with a bit of rockabilly thrown in."

"Would you like to see him?"

"In concert?"

"What else is a Tardis for? I can take you to the Battle of Trafalgar, the first anti-gravity Olympics, Caesar crossing the Rubicon or Ian Dury at the Top Rank, Sheffield, England, Earth, 21st November, 1979. What do you think?"  
Rose gave him her famous tongue-in-teeth grin. "Sheffield it is."

"Hold on tight!" He drummed on the console while dancing wildly around it.  
"Stop!" They unceremoniously dropped to the floor with a thud. The Doctor jumped up.

"1979! What a year! China invades Vietnam. The Muppet Movie." He looked back at Rose. "Love that film. Margaret Thatcher, urgh. Skylab falls to Earth, with a little help from me. Nearly took off my thumb and I like my thumb. I need my thumb. I'm very attached to-"

His voice was cut off by the clicking of rifles in their faces by redcoats. They raised their hands immediately. "-my thumb."

Rose glared at him.

"1879. Same difference", he tried to redeem himself.

The officer, Reynolds, on a black horse addressed him.  
"You will explain your presence and the nakedness of this girl."

The Doctor easily switched over to a Scottish accent. "Are we in Scotland?"  
"How can you be ignorant of that?"  
"Oh, I'm- I'm dazed and confused. I've been chasing this, this wee naked child over hill and over dale. Isn't that right, ya timorous beastie?"  
Rose tried to play along, only her accent was rather awful. "Och, aye! I've been oot and aboot."  
The Doctor cringed and whispered to her, "No, don't do that."  
She whispered back her a smile. "Hoots mon."  
"No, really don't. Really."  
The officer questioned the Doctor again. "Will you please identify yourself, sir?"  
"I'm Doctor James McCrimmon, from the township of Balamory. I have my credentials, if I may." He rummaged around his bigger-on-the-inside pockets for his psychic. "As you can see, a Doctorate from the University of Edinburgh. I trained under Doctor Bell himself."

A black carriage came closer to them and a posh, female voice spoke out.  
"Let them approach."  
Reynolds turned towards the carriage. "I don't think that's wise, ma'am."  
"Let them approach."  
He turned back to the Doctor and Rose. "You will approach the carriage, and show all due reverence."

A footman opened the door of the carriage revealing none other than the Queen herself.  
The Doctor turned to Rose with a huge grin. "Rose, might I introduce her Majesty Queen Victoria. Empress of India and Defender of the Faith."

Rose nervously addressed the Queen. "Rose Tyler, Ma'am. And my apologies for being so- naked."  
Victoria waved her off. "I've had five daughters. It's nothing to me. But you, Doctor. Show me these credentials." He handed over the credentials."Why didn't you say so immediately? It states clearly here that you have been appointed by the Lord Provost as my Protector."

The Doctor looked at the paper himself. "Does it? Yes, it does. Good. Good. Then let me ask - why is Your Majesty traveling by road when there's a train all the way to Aberdeen?"  
Victoria sniffed. "A tree on the line."  
The Doctor raised in eyebrow in question. "An accident?"  
She looked pointedly at him. "I am the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Everything around me tends to be planned."  
"An assassination attempt?"  
Rose piped in, "What, seriously? There's people out to kill you?"  
The Queen stared her down condescendingly. "I'm quite used to staring down the barrel of a gun."

Reynolds rode up to the trio. "Sir Robert MacLeish lives but ten miles hence. We've sent word ahead. He'll shelter us for tonight, then we can reach Balmoral tomorrow."  
"This Doctor and his timorous beastie will come with us."

"Yes, Ma'am. We'd better get moving - it's almost nightfall."  
"Indeed. And there are stories of wolves in these parts. Fanciful tales intended to scare the children. But good for the blood, I think. Drive on!"

The Doctor and Rose fell in line behind the soldiers.  
Rose was contemplating out loud. "It's funny, because you say assassination and you just think of Kennedy and stuff, not her."  
"1879? She's had, oh, six attempts on her life?" He looked down with a grin. "And I'll tell you something else. We just met Queen Victoria!"

Rose skipped along beside him. "I know!"  
"What a laugh!"  
"She was just sitting there."  
"Like a stamp."

That's when Rose got a brilliant idea.  
"I want her to say we are not amused. I bet you five quid I can make her say it."  
"Well, if I gambled on that, it'd be an abuse of my privileges of traveler in time."

Rose gave him a hopeful smile. "Ten quid?", she countered.  
He looked down again.

"Done."

* * *

**A/N: **Okay, I'd rather not beg, but coulda leave a review? Constructive criticizism? Flame? What was your favorite part of the story?


	5. Chapter 5: Not You

**A/N:** Ah! More reviews! Thank you! Rose is a bit grumpy in this chapter. :P I supposed she _does_ have a right to be a little mad.

* * *

"The funny thing is, Queen Victoria did actually suffer a mutation of the blood. It's historical record." Rose gave him a disbelieving look. "She was haemophiliac. They used to call it the Royal Disease. But it's always been a mystery because she didn't inherit it. Her mum didn't have it, her dad didn't have it. It came from nowhere."

"What, and you're saying that's a wolf bite?"  
The Doctor gave his usual manic grin. "Well, maybe. Haemophilia is just a Victorian euphemism."  
Rose looked doubtful. "For werewolf?"  
"Could be", he shrugged.  
"Queen Victoria's a werewolf?", she questioned again.  
"Could be. Her children had the Royal Disease." He waggled his eyebrows. "Maybe she gave them a quick nip."  
She still had that this-is-probably-not-true face on."So, the Royal Family are werewolves?"

He stopped walking as he came to the TARDIS door. "Well, maybe not yet. I mean, a single wolf cell could take a hundred years to mature. Might be ready by, oh, early 21st century?"  
Rose laughed. "Nah, that's just ridiculous! Mind you, Princess Anne."  
The Doctor smirked at her. "I'll say no more."

Rose stopped to think as the Doctor unlocked the door and they started to go in.  
"And if you think about it, they're very private. They plan everything in advance. They could schedule themselves around the moon. We'd never know. And they like hunting! They love blood sports." She widened her eyes in mock disbelief.

"Oh my goodness, they're werewolves!"

Laughing, they collapsed on the jump-seat that had suspiciously turned into a sofa during their werewolf excursion. They started to quiet down, then Rose's mobile rang. She fished it out of her pocket and glanced at the caller ID.

"Who is it?", the Doctor leaned over her shoulder to see.  
"Mickey."  
The Doctor scrunched up his face while she rolled her eyes and answered the call.

"Hello?"  
"Rose?"  
"Obviously. _You_ called my number, Micks", she laughed

The Doctor grumbled and walked over the console and fiddled with the controls. He definitely was not eavesdropping nor was he jealous.

"Where are you at? You and the Doctor need to come and check something out in London?"  
"Oh, you know, just visiting Queen Victoria." She winked at the Doctor who smiled back. "What's the matter? No aliens or anything is there?"  
"No, no aliens. Just come to the Estate."  
"There's nothing wrong with mum?!"  
"No, nothing like that. There's these kids. They have some kind of alien knowledge. They're way too smart."  
"Are you sure they're not just advanced, Mickey?"  
"No, can you please just come and check it out?"  
"Fine. I'll talk to the Doctor. See you in a bit."

The Doctor looked up at her as she closed the phone and slipped in her back pocket and stood up. He looked at her expectantly.

"It seems we have another mystery", she smiled.

* * *

The Doctor stepped into the classroom of Deffry Vale Highschool and looked around. Ah, human schools. Still boring and droll as ever. No wonder kids hated it. He noticed several weird looks from the kids. He gave them a grin.

"Good morning, class. Are we sitting comfortably?"  
He put on his black rimmed glasses. Not that he needed them, but they made him look smart. He writes the name of the class on the chalkboard and circles it.  
"So, physics. Physics, eh? Physics. Physics. Physics! Physics. Physics, physics, physics, physics, physics, physics, physics." He looked at them with mock seriousness."I hope one of you is getting all this down. Okay let's see what you know. Two identical strips of nylon are charged with static electricity and hung from a string so they can swing freely. What would happen if they were brought near each other?"

One boy with rather shaggy hair and glasses was the only one to lift his hand.  
"Yes, er, what's your name?"  
"Milo."  
"Milo! Off you go."  
"They'd repel each other because they have the same charge."

The geeky ones apparently paid attention.

"Correctamundo!" The Doctor frowned. "A word I have never used before and hopefully never will again. Question two. I coil up a thin piece of microwire and place it in a glass of water. Then I turn on the electricity and measure to see if the water's temperature is affected. My question is this. How do I measure the electrical power going into the coil?"

Milo raised his hand again while the rest of them looked extremely bored.  
"Someone else." The Doctor raised his eyebrow and looked around. "No? Okay, Milo, go for it."  
"Measure the current and PDs in an ammeter and a voltmeter."

The Doctor smiled. Not only did the geeks pay attention, they also were extremely smart. He ought to try a harder question.

"Two to Milo. Right then, Milo, tell me this. True or false. The greater the dampening of the system, the quicker it loses energy to its surroundings."  
"False."  
"What is non-coding DNA?"  
"DNA that doesn't code for a protein."

Definitely an advanced student. He might get along with him very well.

"Sixty-five thousand nine hundred and eighty-three times five?"  
"Three hundred and twenty-nine thousand nine hundred and fifteen."

Maybe _more_ than advanced. He'd see if this was the alien knowledge Mickey was talking about.

"How do you travel faster than light?"  
The answer came back as quickly as the question came. "By opening a quantum tunnel with an FTL factor of thirty-six point seven recurring."

The Doctor's jaw fell to the floor. They didn't even teach that in universities on Earth yet. Not to mention this was a mere child. The was _definitely_ alien knowledge.

* * *

Rose was mad. _More_ than mad actually. She was sweating from the heat of the kitchen and the stupid hat she had to wear. She was sick to her stomach from serving out some sort of disgusting mush._ How did the kids handle it?_ She also was dealing with the head dinner lady, who had a crummy attitude. When she signed up for going undercover this was not what she was expecting. A familiar arm harboring a pin-striped suit came up and pushed a tray on the counter in front of her. She was going to kill him. No, that would be to easy. She'd make his life miserable. Maybe turn the TARDIS against him. She could speak to her now after all.

She finished serving and cleaning the counter and deciding to go wipe up a certain Physics teacher's table.

"Two days", she growled.  
He ignored her grumbling and pointed to a spot at the table. "Sorry, could you just? There's a bit of gravy." She went to wipe it up. "No, no, just, just there."  
She looked up at him. "Two days we've been here."  
The Doctor brandished a fork with a chip on the end. "Blame your boyfriend. He's the one who put us onto this." She sighed. It really was Mickey's fault. "He's not my boyfriend."  
The Doctor ignored her. "Boy in class this morning, got a knowledge way beyond planet Earth."  
She pointed to his tray. "You eating those chips?"  
The Doctor crinkled his nose as Rose picked a chip from his plate. "Yeah, they're a bit different."  
She took a bite. "I think they're gorgeous." She looked at the chip sadly. "Wish I had school dinners like this."  
"It's very well behaved, this place."  
Rose looked around with a furrowed eyebrow and chewed her chip thoughtfully. "Mmm."  
"I thought there'd be happy slapping hoodies. Happy slapping hoodies with ASBOs. Happy slapping hoodies with ASBOs and ringtones." She looked at him, her eyebrow raised. "Huh? Huh? Oh, yeah. Don't tell me I don't fit in."

Then Ms. Jackson came over. _Oh how Rose despised the condescending woman._

"You are not permitted to leave your station during a sitting."  
Rose tried to cover up her blunder. "I was just talking to this teacher."  
The Doctor waved at the head dinner lady. "Hello."  
Rose pointed at the tray. "He doesn't like the chips."  
Ms. Jackson sniffed. "The menu has been specifically designed by the headmaster to improve concentration and performance. Now, get back to work." She headed back towards the kitchens.

Rose glared at him. "See? This is me. Dinner lady."  
The Doctor smiled sweetly at her. "I'll have the crumble."  
"I'm so going to kill you."  
"I'll just regenerate."

A wet rag hit his face.

* * *

It was probably a good thing he had regenerated, or she probably would've killed him well into his remaining regenerations. Or blown his cover. Either one wasn't a good option, but knowing Sarah Jane, the first was most likely to happen.

"Hello."  
"Oh, I should think so."  
"And, you are?"

He flinched at the question.

"Er, Smith. John Smith."  
"John Smith." A look of pain came across Sarah Jane's eyes. "I used to have a friend who sometimes went by that name."  
"Well, it's a very common name."  
"He was a very uncommon man", she said sadly. Then she stuck out her hand. "Nice to meet you."  
They shook hands. "Nice to meet you. Yes, very nice. More than nice. Brilliant."  
"So, er, have you worked here long?"  
"No. No, it's only my second day."  
Sarah Jane grinned excitedly. "Oh, you're new, then. So, what do you think of the school? I mean, this new curriculum? So many children getting ill. Doesn't that strike you as odd?"  
The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "You don't sound like someone just doing a profile."  
"Well, no harm in a little investigation while I'm here", she grinned sheepishly.  
"No. Good for you. Good for you. Oh, good for you, Sarah Jane Smith."

She awkwardly left him. Later she'd find out that this was man that had dropped her back on Earth. And not even in the right place.

* * *

He hadn't meant for this to happen, but it did. A case of the-missus-and-the-ex, Mickey called it. Only Sarah Jane wasn't his 'Ex'. He loved her, but not like _that_. She was a great friend, but nothing more. And Rose was not his Missus. But on the other hand, Rose had stirred something inside of him he really couldn't place. It wasn't like back on Gallifery. Their marriages there had been planned for them. They didn't really even have to love their marriage partners, but he did learn to love his wife, but she left him later and he was left with his children. He shook his head and removed those thoughts as he and Rose came out of the coffee shop.

"How many of us have there been traveling with you?"  
He was expecting that and frankly, he wasn't in the mood. "Does it matter?", he snapped.  
Rose was taken back for a moment. "Yeah, it does. If I'm just the latest in a long line."  
He turned to look at her. "As opposed to what?"  
"I thought you and me were-" She sighed. "I obviously got it wrong." She looked over at Sarah Jane and Mickey. "I've been to the year five billion, right, but this?" She motioned to the redhead. "Now this is really seeing the future. You just leave us behind." She lowered her eyes to the ground in front of them and spoke softly. "Is that what you're going to do to me?"

That's what she was worried about. He would never do that. He wasn't even sure if he could.

"No. Not to you.", he reassured her, but she wasn't convinced.  
"But Sarah Jane", she whispered, "you were that close to her once, and now you never even mention her. Why not?"  
The Doctor looked at her sadly. "I don't age, Rose. I regenerate. But humans decay. You wither and you die. Imagine watching that happen to someone who you-" He sighed and looked away.

"What, Doctor?"  
He looked back at her. "You can spend the rest of your life with me, but I can't spend the rest of mine with you. I have to live on. _Alone._ That's the curse of the Time Lords."

She wanted to hug and comfort him, but was interrupted by a flying Krillitane.

* * *

Rose tapped her foot on the floor of Deffry Vale's IT room. Sarah Jane wasn't making any progress. Did she even know _how_ to operate a sonic screwdriver? She felt bad for asking the Doctor those questions earlier, but she wasn't sorry. She needed to know he just wasn't going to dump her like he did with Sarah Jane.

"It's not working."  
Rose sighed and stuck out her hand. "Give it to me."  
Sarah gave her the sonic screwdriver and grumbled, "Used to work first time in my day."  
"Well, things were a lot simpler back then", Rose scoffed.

"Rose, can I give you a bit of advice?"  
Rose kept working on the computers. "I've got a feeling you're about to."  
"I know how intense a relationship with the Doctor can be, and I don't want you to feel I'm intruding."  
She looked up at Sarah Jane. "I don't feel threatened by you, if that's what you mean."  
"Right. Good. Because I'm not interested in picking up where we left off."  
"No?", she said sarcastically. "With the big sad eyes and the robot dog? What else were you doing last night?"  
"I was just saying how hard it was adjusting to life back on Earth."  
"The thing is, when you two met they'd only just got rid of rationing. No wonder all that space stuff was a bit too much for you."  
"I had no problem with space stuff. I saw things you wouldn't believe."  
Ros stood up with a smug smile. "Try me."  
"Mummies."  
"I've met ghosts."  
"Robots. Lots of robots."  
"Slitheen, in Downing Street."  
"Daleks!"  
Ros smirked. "Met the Emperor." _'And destroyed him and his croonies_', she added in her head. The Doctor really didn't need to know she remembered that.  
"Anti-matter monsters."  
"Gas masked zombies."  
Sarah Jane stepped foreword. "Real living dinosaurs."  
"Real living werewolf."  
"_The_ Loch Ness Monster!", Sarah Jane yelled.  
Now Rose was surprised. "Seriously?" She thought for a moment and chuckled. "Listen to us. It's like me and my mate Shireen. The only time we fell out was over a man, and we're arguing over the Doctor."

They both were quiet for a moment and then Rose had to ask something.

"With you, did he do that thing where he'd explain something at like, ninety miles per hour, and you'd go 'what?', and he'd look at you like you'd just dribbled on your shirt?"  
"_All the time_." Sarah Jane shook her head. "Does he still stroke bits of the TARDIS?"  
Rose laughed. "Yeah! Yeah, he does." She raised an eyebrow. "I'm like, do you two want to be alone?"

They started laughing and couldn't stop and it only got worse when the Doctor came into the room.  
"How's it going?"  
Rose pointed at him, still laughing.  
"What? Listen, I need to find out what's programmed inside these."  
The Doctor came over to get his screwdriver from a hysterical Rose.  
"What? Stop it!"

The Doctored sighed. He might be a Lord of Time, 900 years old, and travels through time and space, but there is one thing he will never understand. _Women_.

* * *

The Doctor read the symbols on the screen in disbelief.

"The Skasis Paradigm. They're trying to crack the Skasis Paradigm!"  
Sarah Jane scrutinized the screen. "The Skasis what?"  
"The god maker. The universal theory. Crack that equation and you've got control of the building blocks of the universe. Time and space and matter, yours to control."  
"What, and the kids are like a giant computer?", Rose asked.  
"Yes. And their learning power is being accelerated by the oil. That oil from the kitchens, it works as a, as a conducting agent. Makes the kids cleverer."  
Rose looked worried. "But that oil's on the chips. I've been eating them!"  
The Doctor looked at her. "What's fifty-nine times thirty-five?"  
"Two thousand and sixty five." Her eyes widened.  
"But why use children? Can't they use adults?", Sarah Jane asked.  
The Doctor looked back at the screen. "No, it's got to be children. The God maker needs imagination to crack it." He stepped back in horror. "They're not just using the children's brains to break the code, they're using their souls."

Mr. Finch sauntered in with a smug grin and walked over the threesome.  
"Let the lesson begin. Think of it, Doctor. With the Paradigm solved, reality becomes clay in our hands. We can shape the universe and improve it."  
The Doctor gave him an incredulous look. "Oh yeah? The whole of creation with the face of Mister Finch? Call me old fashioned, but I like things as they are."  
"You act like such a radical, and yet all you want to do is preserve the old order? Think of the changes that could be made if this power was used for good."  
"What, by someone like you?", the Doctor scoffed.  
Mr. Finch smiled. "No, someone like you. The Paradigm gives us power, but you could give us wisdom. Become a god at my side." He stepped closer. "Imagine what you could do. Think of the civilizations you could save. Perganon. Assinta. Your own people, Doctor, standing tall. The Time Lords reborn."  
Sarah Jane grabbed his arm. "Doctor, don't listen to him!"  
Finch turned to Sarah Jane. "And you could be with him throughout eternity. Young, fresh, never wither, never age, never die. Their lives are so fleeting." He looked into the eye of the Doctor. "So many goodbyes. How lonely you must be, Doctor. Join us."  
"I could save everyone."  
"Yes."  
"I could stop the war."

He thought of his people. His family. His friends. All the people he had known, all the people who had died because of him. All the civilizations that had been obliterated because of the Time War. He could fix everything. Make everything new again and start over. He wouldn't be lonely. He could even make Rose so that she would never die.

"No", a voice snapped him out of his reverie. "The universe has to move forward. Pain and loss, they define us as much as happiness or love. Whether it's a world, or a relationship, everything has its time. And everything ends."

Sarah Jane was right. He couldn't. Everything has an end. He couldn't fix everything like he wanted to. He picked out a chair and threw it at the screen.

"OUT!"

* * *

Sarah Jane walked up to the TARDIS. It still looked like it always had. She smiled, remembering all the good times she had. The Doctor stuck his head out.

"Cup of tea?"

She stepped into the bigger-on-the-inside ship and looked around.  
"You've redecorated."  
"Do you like it?"  
"Oh, I- I do." She looked around some more. "Yeah. I preferred it as it was, but er, yeah. It'll do."  
Rose came out of the hallway and into the console room with a grin. "I love it."  
Sarah smiled back. "Hey you, what's forty seven times three hundred and sixty nine?"  
Rose laughed. "No idea. It's gone now. The oil's faded."  
"But you're still clever. More than a match for him."  
"You and me both." Rose looked up at the Doctor. "Doctor?"  
He glanced at her and she gave him a pointed look. He looked back to Sarah Jane. "Er, we're about to head off, but you could come with us."  
Sarah shook her head. "No. I can't do this anymore. Besides, I've got a much bigger adventure ahead. Time I stopped waiting for you and found a life of my own."  
A voice piped in from the other side of the room. "Can I come?" They all looked him him confused. :No, not with you,I mean with you." He points at the Doctor and Rose. "Because I'm not the tin dog, and I want to see what's out there."  
"Oh, go on, Doctor. Sarah Jane Smith, a Mickey Smith. You need a Smith on board."  
Doctor gave him a goofy grin. "Okay then, I could do with a laugh."  
Mickey turned to his ex-girlfriend. "Rose, is that okay?"  
Rose gave him a forced smile. "No. Great. Why not?"  
Sarah pointed towards the door. "Well, I'd better go."  
Rose grabbed her arm, trying not to choke up. "What do I do? Do I stay with him?"  
Sarah smiled at her sadly. "Yes." She embraced Rose. "Some things are worth getting your heart broken for. Find me, if you need to, one day. Find me." Rose nodded with an unsure tear and let go.

Sarah Jane stepped out side to find the Doctor. She looked up at him with a smile.  
"It's daft, but I haven't ever thanked you for that time. And like I said, I wouldn't have missed it for the world."  
"Something to tell the grandkids."  
Her face fell. "Oh, I think it'll be someone else's grandkids now."  
The Doctor scratched the back of his neck. "Right. Yes, sorry. I didn't get a chance to ask. You haven't- There hasn't been anyone? You know."  
Sarah Jane pressed her lips together and sighed. "Well, there was this one guy. I traveled with him for a while, but he was a tough act to follow." She looked back at him. "Goodbye, Doctor."  
The Doctor shook his head. "Oh, it's not goodbye."  
Sarah gave him a pained expression. "Do say it. Please. This time. Say it."  
They embraced each other. "Goodbye, my Sarah Jane."  
She smiled in his shoulder and they let go. He gave her a smile and went to open the door of the TARDIS.

"Wait, Doctor."  
He turned around. "Yes?"

"Take care of her. She's special, that one. Don't let her go."

He stared at her. He'd have to let go someday. She'd get old and die, or some alien would kill her. Either way he'd have to let her go. And there was nothing he could do about it. Nothing.

He nodded at Sarah Jane who smiled back and he went into the TARDIS.

* * *

After a night of talking to the TARDIS for Rose, a somewhat good night's rest for Mickey (who was still partially freaked out about the ship being alive), and a night of tinkering for the Doctor, the TARDIS materialized on ship in the future.

Mickey stepped out first. "It's a spaceship. Brilliant! I got a spaceship on my first go."  
Rose crinkled up her nose at the messy sight. "It looks kind of abandoned. Anyone on board?"  
The Doctor picked op a few things to examine them. "Nah, nothing here. Well, nothing dangerous. Well, not that dangerous. You know what, I'll just have a quick scan, in case there's anything dangerous." He ran back in the TARDIS to take a quick look at the screen and came back out.  
"So, what's the date? How far we gone?"  
"About three thousand years into your future, give or take. Fifty-first century. Diagmar Cluster, you're a long way from home, Mickey. Two and a half galaxies."  
Rose smiled at him. "Mickey Smith, meet the universe. See anything you like?"  
"It's so realistic!" She rolled her eyes at him.

The Doctor was still poking around the room. "Dear me, had some cowboys in here. Got a ton of repair work going on. Now that's odd. Look at that. All the warp engines are going. Full capacity. There's enough power running through this ship to punch a hole in the universe, but we're not moving. So where's all that power going?"  
"Where'd all the crew go?", Rose asked while looking around.  
"Good question. No life readings on board."  
"Well, we're in deep space. They didn't just nip out for a quick smoke."  
"No, I've checked all the smoking pods." He sniffed the air. "Can you smell that?"  
Rose sniffed too. "Yeah, someone's cooking."  
Mickey followed their example. "Yeah, Sunday roast, definitely."

The Doctor opened a door and they all walked down a hallway. The Doctor and Rose unprepared for the emotional struggle they would have that day.

* * *

**A/N:** So yeah. Parts are missing, but hopefully you've watched it, so you know what happens. I'm going to bash the Madame in the next chapter. I'll give my reasons. :P


	6. Chapter 6: Days, not Hours

**A/N**: Thank you for reviews! I'm not a Reinette-basher, but I definitely do not like her. Be warned for a lot of fluff- I mean relationship building, in this chapter. :p Enjoy!

* * *

Rose sighed. Five days and eight hours. That's how long she had been waiting for. He would come back, or at least she hoped he did. She really needed to sleep, she hadn't slept for over twenty-four hours now. She was also tired of hearing Mickey's _I-told-you-so_ rants. She was hungry too. She sat on the floor and pulled her knees to her chest, and wrapped her arms around them. She was left in her dangerous thoughts.

Did the Doctor really want to leave her? Almost a week ago he said he would never do that. Maybe he loved Reinette more. She saw her kiss him and it sure didn't look like he was trying to stop it. She heard their conservation and knew that she saw inside his mind. It made her mad that Reinette didn't even ask him. Wasn't she supposed to love the king of France? Then again, she was a mistress. Rose sighed and laid her forehead on top of her knees.

She woke up to the sound of feet plodding along the hallway, but Mickey was sitting next to her looking at some alien technology. There was only one person it could be. They both scrambled to their feet and saw the Doctor come around the corner. She ran up to him and he hugged her.

"How long did you wait?"  
Rose was glad he couldn't see her face right now. "Five and a half hours", she lied.

He put her down with a smile, which she returned. "Great. Always wait five and a half hours."

He shook Mickey's hand. Mickey pressed his lips together. He was mad, but he'd keep Rose's secret.

Rose bit her lip. "Where've you been?"  
"Explain later. Into the TARDIS. Be with you in a mo."

Rose started to cry as he ran down the hallway. Mickey ushered her into the TARDIS where Mickey started ranting again.

"What did I tell you, Rose?

She ignored him.

"Why does he keep sending you off?"

"He's only worried."

"Why does he keep running away?"

"He's not running away!"

"Then what was that?"

"He always has a reason, Mickey!"

"Yeah, that reason happens to be fancy, smart, rich, _and _French."

She didn't know what to say to that, so she just sat down on the jumpseat and accepted defeat.

Mickey sighed. He didn't mean to sound so angry. He was fine with Rose loving the Doctor and having himself just as a friend. What he wasn't ok with is that the Doctor seemed to pick out a new girl a week and it was hurting Rose. He decided to let that be for a moment.

"Why'd you tell him five and a half hours instead of days?"

"I didn't want him to feel worse then already did."

"He didn't look to bad to me."

"Can we just drop it, Mickey? I'll tell him, just not today."

* * *

A few hours later a sullen Doctor came back. Mickey had decided to go to bed so he wouldn't yell at the Doctor when he came back. Rose found out Madame de Pompadour was dead. The Doctor slowly walked around the console, pressing the buttons needed to put them in the Time Vortex.

"Why her? Why did they think they could repair the ship with the head of Madame de Pompadour?"

The Doctor sighed at Rose's question. "We'll probably never know. There was massive damage in the computer memory banks. It probably got confused. The TARDIS can close down the time windows now the droids are gone. Should stop it causing any more trouble."

Rose looked up at him. He was sadder than she'd ever seen him before.  
"You all right?"

_It was stupid question, of course he wasn't, he had just lost the woman he loved_, Rose thought. _'No matter who he loves, I'll love him and be there for him.'_

"I'm always all right."  
"Do you want a cuppa?"  
"Yeah."  
She came back with tea and paused in the hallway to find the Doctor reading a letter.

_My dear Doctor,_

_The path has never seemed more slow, and yet I fear I am nearing its end. Reason tells me that you and I are unlikely to meet again, but I think I shall not listen to reason. I have seen the world inside your head, and know that all things are possible. Hurry though, my love. My days grow shorter now, and I am so very weak. _

_God speed, my lonely angel._

He looked up at the scanner to see Reinette's fireplace going out. He let himself shed a few a tears before stuffing the letter in his pocket and shutting the screen off. He shuddered and wiped his eyes. Rose came out with the two mugs of tea.

"Hey."

He didn't say anything back, just looked down. No one, in a long time, had seen him cry. Now here he was letting a human girl see his emotions. She gave him a half smile, set down the tea, and walked over to embrace him. He held her and let her hold him as she rocked him back and forth, rubbing his back. For the first time in a very long while, he let himself cry in front of someone. He soaked her shoulder in silent tears, but she didn't seem to mind. She whispered comforting words in his ear that he couldn't make out. She just held him. No one had done that ever, not that he would let anyone. He always looked out for himself. He was the one to hold others. But just this once, he let hold him and it felt right.

He finally let go and wiped his eyes again. He felt like a little bloody girl.

"Sorry"  
"What for, Doctor?"  
"For crying."  
"You don't need to be sorry. You just lost someone you loved. I'd be worried if you didn't."

She handed him the mug with a sad smile as they sat down.

She thought he loved Reinette? Maybe he did like her, but he didn't love her. He was sad because he just added another person to the list of people he'd lost in his life. He wanted Reinette to come with him, because he knew he'd have to take her back. It was history. He couldn't be close to her. He was already to close to Rose. He'd have to go through with it all over again with Rose. To be honest with himself, he was using her to get away from what he couldn't have and he messed up someone else's life.

"Rose-"

He wanted to tell her, but he couldn't. Not now. How could he tell her how he felt only to have her be torn from him?

"Yes, Doctor?"  
"I didn't love Reinette."  
She sighed and looked into her tea. "It's ok if you did, I understand what it's like to lose something you've loved."  
"I didn't though."  
"Denying it is only to make it worse. I saw your kiss, you know. I saw you in each other's minds."  
He raised an eyebrow. "I didn't kiss her. She kissed me."  
Rose was the one to raise her eyebrow this time.  
"Ok, maybe I did."  
Rose looked at him with pity. He hated when she did that.  
"It really is ok, Doctor."  
"No. No, it's not." He sighed and put his face in his hands. "I really didn't love her. I shouldn't have done it. I'm sorry."  
"There's nothing to be sorry for, Doctor."  
"It wasn't fair, Rose. I let her think I loved her. I just wanted to forget. And then I left you here."  
"Remember what I said after we dropped off Cassandra, Doctor? Everyone makes mistakes." She slipped an arm around his, linking them together, and lay her head on his shoulder. "We can't change them, but we can learn from them. Besides, she had a life in France. Think of all things she did! She was an actress, painter, and a singer. She was the king's mistress! I think she even had a daughter. She didn't pine away if that's what you're worried about."

They sat and enjoyed the companionable silence. Rose wouldn't push him to tell her why he did it. She knew Reinette was better than her. She was beautiful, she could act, she could paint, and she was intelligent. Maybe the Doctor just wanted a better companion along.

"I was lonely, Rose."  
"What?"  
"i was lonely. I haven't had anyone close in a long time and it hurts."  
She looked up at him. She was hurt. Was she really not good enough? "What about me?", she asked softly.  
"You are close to me, Rose. But I'm afraid. Afraid that I'll lose you. I don't want to go through it again."  
Rose melted on the inside from his words, but she also got upset the same time. "But she was human too! She would have to leave eventually!"  
"But it wouldn't hurt as much because I knew that I'd have to take her back, but your different Rose. If I lost you I think I'd be worse than I was before the Time War." He stared at the floor.

They both froze from his statement. He froze because he had let his feelings be known, which was not a good thing. Mickey was traveling with them so that this _wouldn't_ happen. How would he feel about the Doctor stealing his girlfriend? He could pretend that he didn't mean what it sounded like, even though it hurt him do so. Rose and him could keep on being friends. Best mates, but nothing more.

She froze because that was the closest he could get to saying those three words every girl wants to hear. She knew that he would pretend that wasn't what he meant and she would play along. It was probably why he had let Mickey on board, to distract them. He was going to let Reinette on for the same reason. They'd have to keep being just friends, otherwise it would hurt worse later. She played along.

"I'm not going anywhere anytime soon, Doctor. Unless you plan on chucking me out into an airlock."  
He looked up with a smile. "Well, if you keep stalking me-"  
"Oi! You were the one who told me to stay put!"  
"Ah! So that's why I had to save you from clockwork robots."  
"Well, you took your time acting as a drunk Time Lord."  
"Time Lords_ do not_ get drunk."  
"That's good. We need a designated driver for the TARDIS." She laughed as she recalled the moment.  
The Doctor raised his eyebrow. "What?"  
"When- when you came in with that bleedin' tie around your head and- and had those glasses on, I swore I was gonna kill you", she laughed.  
"Well, what do have to say? I saved you didn't I? I what do I get? I distinctly remember the words _'Look what the cat dragged in, the Oncoming Storm'_", he imitated her girly voice.  
"How was I supposed to know you were tricking them?"  
"You wound me, Rose Tyler!"  
She chuckled and yawned as they both stood up. "I think I'm going to bed. It's been awhile since I've gotten a decent night's rest."  
"Didn't you sleep last night?"  
"Er, yeah, but us humans need sleep every night."  
He raised an eyebrow at her. "Humans", he scoffed.  
"Oi!" She hugged him again. "'Night, Doctor."  
"Goodnight, Rose."  
"Promise me something."  
"What?"  
"Don't blame yourself, 'kay? Mickey and I are fine. You got back. Reinette had a good life. All in a days work, yeah?"

He searched her face. He'd left her on this spaceship, unsure if he would be able to get back. Kissed a girl who he had only known for a minutes. And had just cried over it all like a little girl and here she was, already forgiving him and asking him to forgive himself. Which he wouldn't do, of course. He'd just beat himself up over it all night and be okay in the morning. He did feel better after talking to Rose about it, which was a bit weird because he never let people in.

"Doctor?"  
"Alright."  
She let go of him and stepped back to tease him. "You'd best do what I say. You don't want worry lines, old man."  
"Oi! I am not an old man."  
She shrugged her shoulders and give him a tongue-in-teeth grin. "Okay, old alien." And she went back to bed to cry herself asleep out of relief and sadness.

* * *

Things were better in a few days and Rose and the Doctor were sitting down talking, while Mickey was quietly holding a button.

"And that weird munchkin lady with the big eyes? Do you remember? the way she looked at you! And then she opens her mouth and fire comes out!"  
Rose laughed. "I thought I was going to get frazzled!"  
"Yeah! One minute she's standing there, and the next minute roar!"  
Mickey interrupted their conservation. "Yeah, there was that, then? What happened?"  
The Doctor unsuccessfully tried to explain. "Oh, it was on this- this, er, planet thing. Asteroid. It's a long story, you had to be there. What're you doing that for?" He motioned to the button.  
"Because you told me to."  
"When was that?"  
"About half an hour ago"  
The Doctor cringed. "Er, you can let go now."  
"Well, how long's it been since I could've stopped?"  
"Ten minutes? Twenty?" Mickey glared at him. "Twenty-nine?"  
"You just forgot me!"  
"No, no, no. I was just- I was calibrating. I was just- No, I know exactly what I'm doing.

The Time Rotor decided to blow up after Mickey let go of the button.

"What's happened?", Rose asked as they all scrambled to the console.  
The Doctor gaped at the screen. "The time vortex is gone. That's impossible. It's just gone!" He kept reading down the screen. "Brace yourself! We're going to crash!"

The TARDIS landed with a sickening thud, sending the occupants to the floor and left gas masks hanging from the celing. The interitor dimmed with a sick whine until it was complety dark. The Doctor located his sonic screwdriver and shone it around the room.  
"Everyone all right? Rose? Mickey?"  
"I'm fine. I'm okay", Mickey answered back.  
The Doctor looked at the console with horror. "She's dead. The TARDIS is dead."  
Rose couldn't hear the wonderful song in her mind anymore or the hum of the TARDIS. "Can you fix her?"  
"There's nothing to fix. She's perished. The last TARDIS in the universe. Extinct."  
Rose grabbed his sleeve. "We can get help, yeah?"  
"Where from?"  
"Well, we've landed. We've got to be somewhere."  
The Doctor stared at the door with a somber expression. "We fell out of the vortex, through the void, into nothingness. We're in some sort of no place. The silent realm. The lost dimension."

Mickey sighed and opened the door and called back over his shoulder sarcastically. "Otherwise known as London. London, England, Earth. Hold on." He picked up an old newpaper as Rose and the Doctor came out of the TARDIS. "First of February this year not exactly far flung, is it?"  
The Doctor scanned the area. "So this is London."  
"Yep."  
"Your city."  
"That's the one."  
"Just as we left it."  
"Bang on."  
The Doctor looked at the sky scandalously. " And that includes the Zeppelins?"  
Rose looked up at the sky in awe. "That's beautiful."

Mickey rolled his eyes. "Okay, so it's London with a big international Zeppelin festival."  
The Doctor looked around again."This is not your world."  
"But if the date's the same, it's parallel, right? Am I right? Like a parallel Earth where they've got Zeppelins. Am I right? I'm right, aren't I?"  
"Must be."  
Rose looked around confused. "So, a parallel world where"  
Mickey stared at her. "Oh, come on. You've seen it on films. Like an alternative to our world where everything's the same but a little bit different, like, I don't know, traffic lights are blue, Tony Blair never got elected."

Rose was staring at a picture of her dead father on a Vitex Lite ad. "And he's still alive. A parallel world and my dad's still alive."  
The Doctor ran next to her as she shortened the distance between her and the sign. "Don't look at it, Rose. Don't even think about it. This is not your world!"  
"But he's my dad and-" She touch the sign.  
_"Trust me on this."_ It kept repeating in Pete Tyler's voice over and over.  
"Well, that's weird. But he's real. He's a success. He was always planning these daft little schemes. Health food, drinks and stuff. Everyone said they were useless. But he did it." She smiled at the ad.  
The Doctor stepped between her and the picture of Pete Tyler. "Rose, if you've ever trusted me, then listen to me now. Stop looking at it. _Your father's dead._ He died when you were six months old. That is not your Pete. That is a Pete. For all we know, he's got his own Jackie, his own Rose. His own daughter who is someone else, but not you. You can't see him. _Not ever_."

_"Trust me on this. Trust me on this. Trust me on this. Trust me on this."_

* * *

**A/N:** Poor Rose. She doesn't get a break. Free piece of cheesecake to everyone who reviews!


	7. Chapter 7: Telepaths

**A/N:** Wow! Eight reviews, five favorites, nineteen followers, and 452 unique visitors from seventeen countries. Sorry about not posting sooner. I had problems between school and a case writer's block. Here's your chapter. Complete with a fuming Jackie, obsessive Doctor, a quiet TARDIS, and a slightly sarcastic Rose.

* * *

Rose stood, all irony set aside, like a stone statue. The past day (_or was it more than a day)_ had been emotionally tolling. She came to a parallel world where her dad was still alive, only to find out she didn't exist and her parents were actually not together anymore. Her parallel mum, who really wasn't her mum, had been upgraded by the Cybermen.

Then Mickey had decided to stay in the parallel world. Mickey had been been one of her touchstones for so long. She had grown up as best friends with him. She loved him like a brother. Their "relationship" hadn't been based on attraction, but rather a platonic love, which they realized later.

The fact the he helped her get better after the escapade with Jimmy Stone was the main fact that she was dazed, or most likely scared of what might happen next. With Mickey in reach, she felt safe, but now that he was in another world it felt as though she could be hurt again. The Doctor was here, but he didn't know everything that had happened to her and she was afraid he wouldn't understand. He wouldn't know how she felt, or he might brush her off, or send her home. He make think of her as a stupid ape even more, because of the choice she had made.

The swallowed the train of thought as the Doctor spoke up.  
"Do you want to go home?"  
She looked at him, confusion written on her face. "Home?"  
"Powell Estates, London, England, Earth, The Solar System, located in the galaxy of-"

"Yes", she cut him off quietly. "_Please._"

He shut his gob and promptly went about the console, pushing buttons and pulling levers to heal to rift and send them back. The ride was smooth this time as they landed in Jackie Tyler's livingroom.

The Doctor held open the door quietly for Rose as she stepped out. She ran to her mum, who enveloped her in a hug as Rose clutched her tightly while sobbing.

"You're alive. _Oh mum_, you're alive."  
"Well, I was the last time I looked. " She tried to look at her daughter, but Rose wouldn't let her go. "What is it? What's happened, sweetheart? What's wrong? Where did you go?" Jackie looked up at the Doctor, who was leaning against the TARDIS. He wasn't hopping around talking as he usually did.  
"Far away." He stared into tin air. "That was far away."  
"Where's Mickey?"  
The Doctor looked up. "He's gone home."

Jackie held Rose for hours as they both cried. Eventually Rose fell asleep on the couch. The Doctor was getting the expected interrogation in the kitchen.

"Okay you alien, what happened?", she snapped.  
"We got stuck in a parallel universe."  
She raised on eyebrow. "You're winding me up."  
"No, I'm not. There was an alien invasion. The parallel version of you and Mickey were killed."

"That's why she sayin' I'm still alive."

He gulped, unsure what reaction she would give to what he was going to say next. "Pete was there."  
She looked down at the table. "Was he killed?"  
"No."  
"What about Rose?"  
"What do you mean?"  
"Wasn't there a parallel version of her?'  
"No."

Jackie Tyler looked at the table. She had a reasonable idea of why Rose wasn't there. Not many people knew, including Rose and the Doctor, that Rose was really adopted. She was found on a beach in Norway called Dårlig Ulv Stranden, or Bad Wolf Bay. She was wrapped in a gold blanket that mysteriously disappeared later and was left with a watch around her neck. It had a odd flower, what they supposed to be a rose, which is what they would later name her. She was almost dead by the time she was found by a few tourists. She was transported to the Royal London Hospital and recovered. Her birth parents were never found and since Jackie and Pete, unable to have children, were next on the waiting list, they were given the chance to adopt her and they almost didn't. Jackie stepped out of her memories and back to the present.

"What happened to Mickey?"  
"His gran was there and he felt he could be of more use there. We tried to get him to come back with us, but he wouldn't."

"He always has missed his gran." Jackie looked up at the clock. "I supposed you both will be wanting to get home", she said quickly, wanting to get away from the conservation.  
"Home?"  
"You guys _do_ live in the TARDIS, don't you? Not just off someplace in south London where you'll never see me? Makin' up stories about Martians and stuff?"  
"No, no. It's just that you referred to us both, Jackie."  
She wanted to laugh until she saw he was serious. "It's obvious she doesn't live here anymore, Doctor. Can't you see how happy she is with you?"  
"I've made her life horrible, Jackie. Can't you see her now? I let her see the world burn, because I wanted to test her character. I've caused her nightmares from the horrible things she's seen. Her boyfriend is out there in a parallel world because of me. I let her see her father die! How can she be happy with me?"

She rolled her eyes. "First off, Rose had nightmares before you came." She laughed bitterly. "She went _through_ a nightmare before she even met you. And I'll say that she has good character, although she isn't a great judge of character herself. And yes, she sad because Mickey's gone, but they broke up before you changed your face on us. Mickey choose to stay. There's nothing you can do about that. And she told me about seeing Pete. You gave her the chance to do something I wish I could've done. Right now, she's more scared than anything else. I like you, but I want to you to know something. My Rose went through a living hell before she met you. Don't you _dare_ hurt her." Jackie was crying now. "You watch her and bring her back safe. Don't let anything happen to her. _Do you understand me?_ She lost everything she was before you met her. Now that she'd met you, she's living a dream she had since when she was young. Don't you mess it up. You may be 850 years older than me, but I swear by that _dumb_ blue box in my living room, if you don't listen to me,I will slap you so hard you won't be able to change your face. _Ever again._" She was standing threateningly in his face while he sat back in his chair at the kitchen table.

Needless to say, the Doctor was a bit overwhelmed and slightly scared at this outburst. He was trying to comprehend it while his subconscious hoped Rose wouldn't wake up before this conservation was over. Jackie was actually trusting him with her daughter. She wasn't expecting him to keep her here after what happened. She was glad Rose met Pete and sat with him while he died. What worried him most though was this mention of a living hell that Rose had apparently been through.

"Uh-" He replied with what seemed like a reasonable reaction to this threat. "Yes, ma'am." He swallowed. "Can I say one thing?"  
She bored into his soul with daggers from her eyes. "_What?_"

"Don't dis the TARDIS."

She slapped him. Hard.

"Please?"

* * *

After a few nights of crying herself to sleep while the Doctor sat with her, Rose was ready to travel again. They'd decided on one person who they both wanted to meet. Elvis Presley.

She giddily ran off to the TARDIS wardrobe to pick out an outfit suitable for the 50's. She decided on a pink dress with a blue jacket. She pulled on some black nylons and saw that the TARDIS had set a pair of pink heels out. She grabbed them and went to the bathroom to do her hair and makeup.

She came out to find the Doctor running around the console. She smirked and then noticed a moped sitting by the door. "Where'd that come from?"

"The TARDIS garage, of course."  
"Of course. Are you really going to wear to suit again?"

"Hey, this suit and me are good friends. You wouldn't want 'im to be left behind."

Rose rolled her eyes. "What about it your hair?", she motioned to his wild mop of hair that was sticking out in all directions, probably courtesy of the TARDIS shocking him while he tinkered.  
"What? There's nothing wrong with it!"

She raised an eyebrow and kept a poker face until the TARDIS starting chuckling.  
The Doctor rolled his eyes and pulled out a mirror. "Both of you just stop it."  
"What? She laughed first. I can't help it when she does that!"

_Oops._

She hadn't really meant to say that. She thought maybe he brushed it off, but was proved wrong when he looked up from the mirror.

"How did you know she laughed first?"

Rose's mouth went slightly agape and she stuttered while she tried to find a way out of this. "I, uh- You see, em- Well, I-"

The TARDIS was unusually quiet. The Doctor would be bloody mad that she didn't tell him. She didn't want him to know, because he would freak out and use Rose as a medical pin cushion. Or make her change Rose back, which frankly she didn't _and_ couldn't do. One, because Rose had always been telepathic and two, it was nice to have a girl to talk to. Rose thought so to, and since the TARDIS said she was okay, she didn't tell the Doctor about it.

"Well?"  
Rose knew the Doctor was going to be mad about her not telling me before, but she blurted it out anyway. "I can talk to the TARDIS and she can talk to me."  
The Doctor stood shell shocked. Rose could converse with the TARDIS, and neither one had told him about it. He was mad, but also worried about Rose. She could still be burning up in her mind or a bit of Cassandra that he didn't catch could still be there. "You didn't bother to tell me?"  
"The TARDIS said-"  
"It doesn't matter what the TARDIS said! You should have told me!"  
"She said I was okay."  
He grabbed her hand. "Come on."  
"Where are we going?"  
"Down to med bay, where else?"  
"I thought we were going to see Elvis."  
"That was before _someone_ decided to finally tell me that they can speak to the TARDIS, which means the Time Vortex or some alien is in their head somewhere", he said sarcastically.  
Rose stopped walking. "You know what? This is _exactly_ why we didn't tell you. She knew you'd drag me down to med bay, run all kinds of scans, and we'd never get out of here."

"Rose, I need to see if you're ok! For all you know, the Vortex could be burning through your head!" He grabbed her arm and looked her in the eye. "I promised your mum I'd keep you safe."  
Rose closed her eyes and sighed. "There's nothing wrong with me, Doctor, but I'll let you do whatever you need to."

The Doctor rolled his eyes and pulled her along to med bay.

* * *

Rose sighed and looked around the pristine white room for the millionth time. She wished there was a clock somewhere, not that it would help since she was in a time ship. She swung her bare feet back and forth. She'd taken her heels off a long time ago. It looked like they'd be here for a while. The Doctor was still scrutinizing the results from the scans, his glasses perched on his nose.

"Find anything life threating yet?", she said sarcastically.

He sighed audibly. "No. Why can't I find anything-", me mumbled to himself.

Rose looked to the ceiling. "Blimey, TARDIS! Just let him see what he wants will you? I want to get out of here."  
The Doctor turned to raise an eyebrow at her.

_'You're. Fine.',_ the TARDIS said.  
"I'm going to be stuck here forever if you don't."  
_'Time ship. Remember?'_

"TARDIS!"  
The TARDIS mentally huffed. "Fine."

"Ah hah!" The Doctor ran his hand through his already wild hair. "You've got a bit of the Vortex left-"  
Rose cut him off while rolling her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. From the gamestation. If I'm not burning up, can we _please_ leave and go see Elvis?"  
He swiveled his chair around to see her face. She thought he looked a bit silly, yet condescending at the same time while looking down at her over his glasses. _"_Do you remember what happened?_"  
_"No, I, er, had a dream about part of it. Mostly opening the heart of the TARDIS and, uh, stuff."  
"What _stuff_, exactly?"  
Rose sighed. She was not happy with herself about destroying the Daleks. She got carried away when they were going to exterminate the Doctor. She had committed genocide. He was probably mad about it. "Maybe, uh, ripping the Daleks down to stardust?"  
"Is that all?"

This question made her hysterical. She had committed genocide for heaven's sake! She had killed people. _Killed them. _She was torn between two ways. She was glad she had saved the Doctor, but on the other hand, she had killed them. They would've taken over the universe if she hadn't, but that still didn't make it any better. The Doctor may not like the Daleks because of the Time War, but he didn't have to be _that _heartless.

"Is that all? _Is that all?_ Doctor, I killed, no, _murdered_ hundreds, maybe thousands of Daleks! I committed genocide! All you have to say is "Is that all"?"

"First off, Rose, you were influenced by Bad Wolf. Two, Daleks have no feelings for others. They would have taken over the whole universe! They killed my people, Rose! They obliterated worlds and millions of innocent victims! Who would have stopped them, Rose?"

Rose took a deep breath to stop the overwhelming tears. Memories from that day came flooding back. "I understand that, Doctor. I'm glad their gone. But I still feel horrible for killing all of them."

The Doctor knew what she was talking about. He felt the same why about the Time War, only it was his fault.

"Rose, you did what had to be done. Now I'm not happy that you broke in to my TARDIS and starting burning your mind with the Time Vortex, but thank you for saving me."  
"My pleasure. And I didn't break in to _your_ TARDIS. She helped me."  
"Hmph. Should have known. Women always stick together.", he said while going back to his seat at the impossibly white counter.  
"Oi! She likes having a girl to talk too!"  
"Does she now?", he cajoled while looking over the results again.

"Yes and so do I." She laid down on a light blue couch near the counter, but closer to the door. She was positioning herself to make a run for it while he wasn't looking.

"Am I not good enough to talk to?"

Rose rolled her eyes at the ceiling. "You're a _man._"

"What does that have to do with it?"

"You can't talk about girl stuff with men."  
"I'm the Doctor. I can talk about anything.", he said with mock pride. "What _girl stuff?_"

Ah hah. She was getting him distracted now. She went on explaining while waving her hands around "Oh, you know, the usual. Redecorating rooms, outfits, makeup, best places to shop." She smirked at his back. "How your ego is as big as Raxacoricofallapatorius."

"_What?! _I _do not_ have an ego as big as Raxacoricofallapatorius."

Rose sat up on the couch and scooted closer to the door. "Excuse me? Time _Lord. _How much more pompous can you get?"  
"It's not pompous! I can't help it if I'm superior. "  
Rose rolled her eyes and scooted to the edge of the couch. "Right, _my lord_." Then she ran as fast as she could out of the room. She reached the edge of the control room when she realized her pink heels were still in med bay.

"Great. Just great. I finally make my great escape and forget my shoes."

A smirking Doctor walked in holding her shoes. She grinned and walked over to get them, but he held them above her head. "You left without me telling you that you could."

She raised an eyebrow and folded her arms across her chest. "I don't see you waiting for permission to leave prisons that we get captured in."

"Really, Rose? Med bay is hardly a prison."  
"Ok, then you go sit on that table for a few hours doing nothing while I go outside."  
He rolled his eyes at her. "I need to make sure you're okay. I'm not justing wasting time on purpose, you know."  
"So you admit to wasting time.", she said with a smug look on her face.  
"No, what I-"  
"You haven't found anything wrong with me."  
"No..."  
"Then why can't we go out, hm?"  
"Because I don't know what's wrong yet."  
"Why does there always have to be something wrong? What if it's supposed to be there?"

"Rose, you've never been telepathic."  
"Yes, I have. I've been telepathic my entire life. The-"  
"_WHAT?_ You didn't tell me this either? How much else do you hide from me?"

Rose gave him a you're-about-to-be-slapped-within-the-next-five-seconds-by-Jackie-Tyler look. "Probably just as many things as you hide from me."

There was a moment of awkward silence before she spoke again.

"I didn't know I was telepathic until after Christmas. And yes, I do hide a lot of stuff from you. I hide stuff from a lot of people. Everyone hides something from somebody. And don't you dare get mad the TARDIS for not telling you. This is the exact reason why she didn't. She knew you'd be unreasonable."

"I'm not being unreasonable."  
"Then why have you been spending hours looking at those results then? The TARDIS says there's nothing dangerous. Why don't you trust her?"  
"I do trust her, Rose!"  
"Then why keep worrying about it?"

The Doctor knew she was right. The TARDIS knew more than he did. He couldn't find anything wrong with Rose's scan results anyway.

"Ok. I'll stop worrying about it unless you", he pointed at her, " are acting funny. You'll tell me if anything feels wrong, promise?"  
Rose rolled her eyes. At least some progress had been made."Promise. Now can we please go meet Elvis?

He handed her the shoes. "Yep. Put on shoes and will go." He was about to turn around when she spoke.

"Wait a mo. You got a comb?"

He dug through his suit pocket and found one. "Yep, here you go. What do you need it for?"

She grinned. "Your hair. It's a complete mess!" She started combing his hair into a quiff while he raised his eyebrow.

"What?", she asked with a tongue-in-teeth smile, "If you're going out in the 50s without changing that suit the least you can do is have the hair for it."  
"True." She handed him the comb.

"Ok, here you go." He ran back into the hallway of the TARDIS. Rose rolled her eyes and started out the door.

She looked around the small town they had landed in. "I thought we'd be going for the Vegas era. You know ,the white flares and the chest hair."  
The Doctor threw her a pink bike helmet that had sunglasses in it. "You are kidding, aren't you? If you want to see Elvis, you go for the late fifties. The time before burgers. When they called him the Pelvis and he still had a waist. What's more, you see him in style. Oh, and the TARDIS picked those out."

Then he rode a moped out of the TARDIS door, wearing a white helmet and shades. Rose shook her head and grinned at him as he used a pickup line with an American accent.

"You going my way, doll?"  
"Is there any other way to go, daddy-o? Straight from the fridge, man."  
He went back to his London accent. "Hey, you speak the lingo."  
"Oh well, me, mum, Cliff Richard movies every Bank Holiday Monday.", she said while getting on the moped and putting on her helmet and shades.  
"Ah, Cliff. I knew your mother would be a Cliff fan."

The Doctor revved the engine after Rose was settled on the bike with her arms around his middle.

"Where we off to?", she asked.  
"Ed Sullivan TV Studios. Elvis did Hound Dog on one of the shows. There were loads of complaints. Bit of luck, we'll just catch it."  
"And that'll be TV studios in, what, New York?"  
"That's the one."

A London bus drove on the street perpendicular to them and Rose noticed Union Jack bunting on a fence.  
"Ha! Digging that New York vibe.", she teased him.  
"Well, this could still be New York. I mean, this looks very New York to me. Sort of... Londony New York, mind."

Rose just smirked at him.

* * *

**A/N:** So a bit of a snarky Rose... And I really didn't mean for the Doctor to find out about Rose's telepathic abilities yet... It just sort of happened. :p Oh well.  
When we get to fifteen reviews, I'll hand out cupcakes. Hope you've enjoyed this chapter!


	8. Chapter 8: Wires and Dreams

**A/N:** WARNING. FLUFF. I AM NOT ASHAMED. I SHIP ROSE AND TEN LIKE I OWN THE NAVY. No worries, though, because it's always lightest before the angst and whump. *cue maniacal evil genius laugh * *cough* Ahem, also a dream and some indirect mention of Jimmy Stones. In my story, he's like top evil, so... Yeah.

* * *

The Doctor held on to Rose's hand like a lifeline. He had just gotten her, well, her face back. Being rather partial to it, he wasn't keen on it leaving again anytime soon. They walked down the street of the small neighborhood quietly with Tommy behind them. A street party was in full swing. Tables were lined up in the middle of the street. Food, drinks, and sweets lined the tables as people sat at them, laughing and talking. Rose looked up at the Doctor.

"We could go down the Mall. Join in with the crowds."

"Nah, that's just pomp and circumstance. This is history right here." He smiled down at her and gestured to the neighborhood.  
She smirked at him "The domestic approach."  
"Exactly."

Her face turned from teasing to worry in a moment. "Will it- That thing, is it trapped for good on video?"  
"Hope so. Just to be on the safe side though, I'll use my unrivaled knowledge of transtemporal extirpation methods to neutralize the residual electronic pattern."  
Rose blinked. "You what now?"  
The Doctor shook his head with a grin. "I'm going to tape over it."  
Rose laughed. "Just leave it to me. I'm always doing that."

The Doctor turned to the teen beside him. "Tell you what, Tommy, you can have the scooter. Little present. Keep it in the garage for a few years though, eh?"  
Tommy smiled back. They heard a door shut and turned to see Tommy's father leaving with a suitcase in hand.  
Tommy scowled and nodded towards the man leaving a house. "Good riddance."  
The Doctor looked back at the boy. "Is that it then, Tommy? New monarch, new age, new world. No room for a man like Eddie Connelly?"  
"That's right. He deserves it."

Rose was sad for this boy. His father hadn't treated him nor his mother well, but he was still his father. She laid a hand on his shoulder and looked him in the eye. "Tommy. Go after him.", she said softly.  
Tommy looked confused. "What for?"  
"He's your dad."  
"He's an idiot."  
Rose laughed. "Of course he is. All grown men are at some point." The Doctor gave her a mock scowl. She turned back to Tommy. "But you're clever. Clever enough to save the world, so don't stop there. Go on."

Tommy looked back at his father and then to her. She gave him a reassuring smile and he ran to catch up with his father. She watched them walk and talk for a few minutes before the Doctor poked her in the shoulder. She turned and he handed her a glass of juice.

"Why did you tell him to go back?", he asked quietly, taking a sip from his glass.  
Rose swished the orange juice in her cup around. "He doesn't know what it's like to not have a dad." She paused to look up at him for a moment. "I don't want him to ever know what that feels like."

The Doctor nodded his head and then turned to Rose to ask a question. "So you really think grown men are idiots?"  
She smirked. "Sometimes."  
"Good thing I'm not human male."  
"Well, I never said what species I was referring to, but if you must know, I was talking about all of them."  
"Oi! A bit stereotypical aren't we, Miss Tyler? "

"Can't argue with the facts, Doctor. It is a truth universally acknowledged."

"Ah, Austen. We ought to go meet her sometime."

"You mean you haven't met her yet?"

"Nope.", he said popping the 'p'.

They finished their drinks in silence. When they were done, the Doctor jumped up from his seat and offered his hand to Rose. "Shall we see what other festivities the night holds, Dame Rose?", he asked with a twinkle in his eye.

She grinned and used his hand to pull herself up. "Of course, Sir Doctor."

* * *

_It was dark except for the glow emitting from the TARDIS screen. Rose looked around the room and under the console. The Doctor was nowhere to be found._

"_Doctor? Doctor, are you in here?" Rose walked around the console._

_A cheerful, yet eerie voice called out in the soft light. "Come here, pretty girl."_

_Rose stepped in front of the screen. She shivered at the memories the picture on the screen brought back._

_The Wire looked at her with a large smile. "Don't be frightened, sweetie."_

_Rose snorted and started to back up. "Why should I not be frightened of you? You took my face and sorted through my mind like it was your playground."_

_The Wire smirked back at her. "I'll gobble you up, little girl. Every last drop."_

_Rose cried out for someone to help her as the Wire laughingly latched on her face and started feeding. Memories from her childhood and teen years flew past her like they were on a screen. She caught a few glimpses of playing in the park, sleepovers with Shareen, and even a bit of Jimmy Stones. She couldn't move. There was a blinding pain before everything went black. _

_After what had seemed a long time, she woke up in a room she hadn't seen in years. A place she didn't want to see ever again. She flew off the bed and ran out the bedroom door. She tried opening the front door, but it wouldn't budge. She checked the windows, but they were locked too. Then she heard a click as a door opened and Jimmy walked in. He laughed at her startled expression and turned to lock the door._

"_I told you I'd find you, you little brat."_

_She stood up as straight as she could even though she shook in fear. "You can't do anything to me."_

_He laughed maniacally and walked over to her. Rose couldn't move. It was like her feet were glued to the floor. _

"_Listen here, Rosie." She flinched at his nickname for her. "I can do whatever I want to you. I know it was you who ratted me out." He grabbed her wrists backed her towards the wall. Rose fought with everything she had in her. "You brought this on yourself, babe. You choose to come with me. You choose to stay here. Then you went and told on me. Now you're going to be punished for it."_

_He took a step back and threw a punch at her cheek and grabbed her before she fell to the floor._

"_Someone will come for me! The Doctor, or Mickey, or mum."_

_Jimmy laughed. "You seriously think someone would come for you? Look at you. You practically gave yourself away. You didn't even finish school. All you've ever done is work in that shop and the only reason you got that job is because they felt bad for you."_

Rose was in tears from physical and mental anguish. He continued hitting her, putting blows to her head, chest, and back. For some reason, she could barley fight back. This was a dream, she thought. In real life, he might still be stronger, but she knew how to fight back.

"_Jimmy-", she croaked,"Please stop." _

"_What's that, Rosie?"  
"Stop."  
"Not until you've been punished." He gave her a wicked smile. "You know what that means, right?"_

_He dragged her to her feet by her arms. Tears and sweat rolled down her face as she tried to get away. She started screaming. She prayed someone would hear her before he-_

"_No one can hear you, Rosie. You're all mine." _

_Rose felt sick as he dragged her back to the bedroom. She tried going limp and making herself a dead wight, since she couldn't fight back. _

"_You can't do this Jimmy! I'm only dreaming! YOU CAN'T DO IT!", she screamed. _

"_Oh no darling, it's not a dream." , he laughed as he pinned her to the bed._

"_NO! STOP! Jimmy, please just stop. Please. Don't" She cried. _

* * *

"Rose? Rose, wake up!", The Doctor leaned over the bed and shook her back to the waking world. Her eyes flew open to see him over her and she gave a scream, pushed him, and managed to fall off the bed backwards while scrambling away from him.

"Rose, what's the matter?" He came closer to her spot in the corner of the room.  
"Don't touch me!" She hissed while tears continued to flow down her face.

The Doctor gave her a bewildered look. "Rose, it's the Doctor., I"m not going to hurt you." He crouched down in front of her non-threateningly.

"Doc- Doctor?" She realized who actually was in front of her and sat down on the floor, taking deep breaths. He inched closer to her. She gave a watery laugh and patted on the floor next to her.  
"You can come closer. It was just a dream.", she said while wiping her face on her light blue pajama shirt.

He came closer and sat down next to her a held out his hand. Rose didn't take it, but instead pulled up her knees and hugged them while staring at the floor. The Doctor set his hands in his lap.  
"I don't think that was just a dream, Rose."  
"You're right." She took a another deep, shuddering breath, trying to get the picture of Jimmy out of her head. "It wasn't a dream. It was a nightmare."

They sat in silence unto the Doctor noticed her breathing was back to normal. "Do you want to go back to bed?"

Her eyes flashed up at him and he caught the fear in her eyes. "NO! I mean- no. I don't want to."

He scooted closer and he could feel her tense up. "You need to sleep, Rose. You haven't had a decent night's sleep in two days."  
She looked up at the bed. She was safe, she knew. Jimmy couldn't come get her and she knew the Doctor would never hurt her. "'Kay"

The Doctor got back up and sorted out her sheets. She came around and climbed in. She bit her lip. Should she ask him? Or would it be too weird?

"Um, Doctor?"

"Hmm?", he mumbled as he tucked the blankets around her.  
"Could you stay with me? At least until I go back to sleep?"  
He smiled down at her. "Sure thing. I just-" He looked around the room. "There's not really anywhere to sit..."

She patted the side of the bed. Her bed was huge, a king sized, she guessed.. "The bed's big enough for both. I mean, if you don't mind."  
"No, no. It's alright. It's just that you didn't want me touching you. I thought you wouldn't want me next to you.", he explained, taking off his trainers, suit jacket, and tie. He climbed on top of the covers.

"Oh."

They laid down facing each other and the TARDIS turned the lights off. The Doctor waited a few moments before questioning her.

"What was the dream about?"  
She swallowed audibly. She could just tell him about the Wire, but that wouldn't really explain her pushing him away. "The Wire.", she half lied.  
"Oh. What was it like?"  
"What?"  
"What was it like when the Wire took your, uh, face?"  
She waited a few seconds before answering. "It hurt really bad. She sorted through my memories. They kind of came up like a screen. Like watching telly, you know?"

The Doctor grimaced. It sounded like tortured he'd been through before, but he didn't really want to bring _that_ up at the moment. "Poor Rose."  
"What?", she asked with a hint of amusement.  
"You seem to attract visitors to your mind a lot.", he teased.  
"Well, it's not like I ask for it!"

He chuckled and rolled onto his back, noticing Rose's bedroom ceiling for the first time. Over her bead was a huge window that showed the stars. "You really like the stars, don't you?"

Rose followed his lead and rolled onto her back to look up. "Yep. Always have. Although you can't see them as well from Powell Estate."

He smiled, but then his thoughts when back to her nightmare. The Wire wasn't just part of her dream. She was screaming for someone to stop. What name was it that she'd said? He went through the past half hour in his mind.

"What else did you dream about, Rose?"

He felt for her hand and noticed that she flinched before she took it. "Nothing really."

"Rosie", he sighed, "You are a terrible liar."

She shuddered at the name. "Please don't call me that?"  
"What? Jack called you that." He turned towards her.  
"That's what he used to call me when-" She stopped short, not wanting to tell him.  
"Who's he?", he questioned softly.  
"Jimmy. Jimmy Stones."  
The Doctor rolled on his side and squeezed her hand. "What did he do?"

Rose felt warm tears gather in the corners of her eyes. "He- He hurt me." The Doctor took all his resolve to sit there quietly instead of finding this _Jimmy _and beating him to a pulp.

"I guess it was him that broke that rib then."  
She turned to look at him in shock. "What rib?"

"You have a rib that isn't healed properly. It must hurt something awful when you breathe too hard." He looked sadly at her.  
"How do you know about that?"  
"Found it on a scan the other day."

"Oh."

They laid quietly except for the occasional sniff from Rose, who was trying not to cry. She almost wished the Doctor wasn't here so she could have a good cry. The Doctor was wondering what had exactly happened. He remembered the huge, locked door in her mind after the whole Cassandra escapade. Was that what was behind that door?

"Rose?"  
She wiped her eyes. "Yeah?"  
"What happened?"

"In my dream?"  
"No, what actually happened."

She sighed. She didn't really want to tell him. What if he sent her home or thought she was one of those girls who just sold themselves off?

"Rose?"

She choked back tears. "He promised."

"What?"

"He said if I stayed with him that my mum and I would be ok. He said he loved me. I was sixteen. I believed him. After a while he convinced me to leave school." She was crying now and decided to roll over. "He said- He said I wasn't smart enough anyway." The Doctor _really, really_ wanted to beat this guy to a pulp now. "So I moved in with him. He started having his gang over and started-" She really didn't want to tell him what actually happened. Heavens knew what he would do. "He started- started hurting me. He and his gang sold drugs and other stuff, but I never was part of it. He trapped me in that flat. He wouldn't let me out." She shivered at the memories. "I- I did tell mum eventually and he was put in jail. I haven't seen him since."

The Doctor could tell this story didn't make much sense on Jimmy's part and he knew there was more to it, but he dared not ask for anything more. She was crying into her pillow now, looking away from him. He felt his hearts break.

"Rose." He touched her shoulder gently, as not to startle her. "Roll over."

She wiped her face and did as he asked.

"Why didn't you tell me before?"

For-" She sniffed. "For the same reason you don't tell me much about the Time War. It hurts to much."

He sighed and held her as close as he could with her under the sheets.

"I know you're not telling me everything, Rose. Will you tell me someday?"

"Why- Why do you want to know?"

He pulled back to look her in the eye. "So I know how to make you better."

"Me? But what- what about you? The Time War was _a lot _worse than this." She searched his face. "How can I make you better?", she asked softly.  
His hearts stopped at her question and he swallowed. Hard.

"Oh, Rose." He whispered and wiped a tear from her cheek with the pad of his thumb. "You already make me better."

The TARDIS smiled and played her song to her hurting time travelers as they fell in a peaceful sleep.

* * *

**A/N:** *sniff* Review- *sniff* Please? *sniff*


	9. Chapter 9: She Doesn't Know

**A/N: **Blimey! I sat down and wrote this in like two hours. O_o Then again it _is_ a little scriptish. But I had to rewrite some of the story. *sigh* Ooohhh. What's this? Eighteen reviews, seven favorites, and twenty-four followers? *hands cupcakes to Americans and fairy cakes to Brits* Enjoy! Tell all your friends!

* * *

The situation they were in was probably their fault. They had pressed the button that took them anywhere, anytime, in all of space. All they wanted was a surprise. Something to cheer them up after the past few days spent in the TARDIS dealing with nightmares about the Wire. Now a woman named Ida was pulling a lever and Zach was warning them about what they were about to see.

"Brace yourselves. The sight of it sends some people mad."

Rose and the Doctor gaped at the sight before them. It was a black hole. A goodness-to-honest black hole. Not exactly what they were expecting. Rose was the first to speak.

"That's- That's a black hole."  
The Doctor turned to Zach. "But that's impossible!"  
Zach shrugged his shoulders. "I did warn you."

The Doctor looked to Ida then back to Zach "We're standing under a black hole.", he asked, a little dumbfounded.  
Ida shook her head in conformation. "In orbit."

"But we can't be!"  
Ida gestured to the window above. "You can see for yourself. We're in orbit."  
"But we can't be!", he repeated, staring out the glass.  
"This lump of rock is suspended in perpetual geostationary orbit around that black hole without falling in. Discuss."  
Rose looked at her. "And that's bad, yeah?"  
The Doctor swallowed and shook his head, "Bad doesn't cover it. A black hole's a dead star. It collapses in on itself, in and in and in until the matter's so dense and tight it starts to pull everything else in too. Nothing in the universe can escape it. Light, gravity, time. Everything just gets pulled inside and crushed."

"So, they can't be in orbit. We should be pulled right in."  
"We should be dead."  
Ida looked at the pair with a sad smirk. "And yet here we are, beyond the laws of physics. Welcome on board."

* * *

Rose swallowed and handed the Doctor his helmet. "I want that spacesuit back in one piece, you got that?", she mock threatened him.  
The Doctor saluted her and put on his helmet.. "Yes, sir."  
"It's funny, because people back home think that space travel's going to be all whizzing about and teleports and anti gravity, but it's not, is it? It's tough."  
The Doctor pressed his lips together. "I'll see you later."  
Rose decided that just this once, she wouldn't hide her feelings. They were on a planet with no way back. What else could go wrong, really? She held the sides of his helmet and placed a kiss where his forehead would be.

"Not if I see you first.", she smiled.

* * *

The Beast spoke to the Doctor almost haughtily. "This one knows me as I know him. The killer of his own kind."  
The Doctor set his jaw and ignored him. "How did you end up on this rock?"  
"The Disciples of the Light rose up against me and chained me in the pit for all eternity."

Rose felt images flash her mind when she heard the Beast and saw his picture on the screen. She had seen him somewhere. In her dreams, no, nightmares as a child. Gold, red and black mixed together. Fighting for the beginning of the universe. And then like that, it was gone.

"When was this?", she heard the Doctor say.  
"Before time."  
"What does before time mean?"  
"Before light and time and space and matter. Before the cataclysm. Before the universes were seperated."  
"That's impossible. No life could have existed back then."  
"Is that your religion?"  
"It's a belief."

The Beast laughed. "You know nothing. All of you, so small. The Captain, so scared of command. The soldier, haunted by the eyes of his wife. The scientist, still running from Daddy. The little boy who lied. The virgin." He paused for a moment. " And the lost goddess, so far away from home. Her home is gone. The Valiant Child who will die in battle so very soon."

Rose gulped. Somehow she knew the last part was for her. "Doctor, what does that mean?"

The Doctor was equally worried. A lost goddess? Her home gone? The fact that she was going to die soon? It couldn't be true. "Rose, don't listen."

"What does it mean?"  
"You will die, Bad Wolf, and I will live."

* * *

The Doctor felt almost hysterical on the edge of the pit. For once, he knew nothing. He had no idea what was down there or what would happen. For once in his life, he was scared. He looked back up to Ida.

"I believe- I believe I haven't seen everything. I don't know. It's funny, isn't it? The things you make up. The rules. If that thing had said it came from beyond the universe, I'd believe it, but before the universe? Impossible. Doesn't fit my rule. Still, that's why I keep traveling. To be proved wrong. Thank you, Ida."

Ida reached down to him. "Don't go!"  
"If they get back in touch- If you talk to Rose- Just tell her. Tell her." He took a shuddering breath and looked down. "Oh, she knows."  
He let go just in time to hear Rose's voice crackle over the com.

"Doctor, are you there? Doctor, Ida, can you hear me? Are you there, Doctor?"  
Ida picked up the com. "He's gone."

Rose felt her heart drop. "What do you mean, he's gone?"  
"He fell into the pit. And I don't know how deep it is. Miles and miles and miles."  
"But what do you mean, he fell?", she asked shakily.  
"I- I couldn't stop him." She paused for a moment. "He said your name."

Rose froze in shock. The Doctor was gone. The man that she loved was gone. There was nothing she could do. But she believed in him. He wouldn't just go off and fall into a pit if he didn't think he could get back. She believed in the Doctor and that is all she needed.

* * *

The Doctor looked at the monster before him. He had to admit it was scary, but it was threatening his Rose. _His? He really ought to think about when that happened._

"You're imprisoned, long time ago. Before the universe, after, sideways, in between, doesn't matter. The prison is perfect. It's absolute, it's eternal. Oh, yes! Open the prison, the gravity field collapses. This planet falls into the black hole! You escape, you die. Brilliant! But that's just the body. The body is trapped, that's all. The devil is an idea. In all those civilizations, just an idea. But an idea is hard to kill. An idea could escape. The mind. The mind of the great Beast. The mind can escape! Oh, but that's it! You didn't give me air, your jailers did. They set this up all those years ago! They need me alive, because if you're escaping, then I've got to stop you. If I destroy your prison, your body is destroyed. Your mind with it."

He picked up a rock to smash the urns.

"But then you're clever enough to use this whole system against me. If I destroy this planet, I destroy the gravity field. The rocket. The rocket loses protection and falls into the black hole." He paused before the next urn. "I have to sacrifice Rose. So, that's the trap. Or the test, or the final judgment, I don't know. But if I kill you, I kill her. Except that implies in this big grand scheme of Gods and Devils that she's just a victim." He swallowed and stood in in front of the next urn. Desperately wishing out of all of time and space he could see Rose and that she could her him. "But I've seen a lot of this universe. I've seen fake gods and bad gods and demi-gods and would-be gods, and out of all that, out of that whole pantheon, if I believe in one thing, just one thing, I believe in her."

He took a deep breath and let the rock smash the fragile vase.

"This is your freedom. Free to die. You're going into that black hole and I'm riding with you."

* * *

Meanwhile, after being drugged and dragged to a rocket, waking up to being strapped in a seat, Rose was trying to figure the whole ordeal. "It doesn't make sense. We escaped, but there's a thousand ways it could've killed us. It could've ripped out the air or, I don't know, burnt us, or anything. But it let us go. Why? Unless it wanted us to escape?"

Toby looked over at Rose with an annoyed face. "Hey, Rose, do us a favour? Shut up. We're almost there. We'll be beyond the reach of the black hole in forty, thirty-nine-"

The rocket started shaking and slowing down.  
Danny looked over at the controls and monitors. "What happened? What was that?"  
"What's he doing? What is he doing?"  
"We've lost the funnel. Gravity collapse!"  
Rose looked at them confused. "What does that mean?"  
Zach swallowed. "We can't escape. We're headed straight for the black hole!"

They all looked out the window to see the planet being pulled towards the black hole. Rose spoke up. "It's the planet. The planet's moving. It's falling."

Toby became covered with red symbols and started growling. "I am the rage!"  
Rose looked over in shock. "It's Toby. Zach, do something!"

Toby gave a wicked smile. "And the bile and the ferocity. I am the Prince and the Fall and the Enemy. I am the sin and the fear and the darkness." He started breathing fire. I shall never die. The thought of me is forever. In the bleeding hearts of men, in their vanity and obsession and lust. Nothing shall ever destroy me. Nothing!"

Something in Rose snapped and her eyes turned gold. She broke out of her seat, but wasn't sucked into space. Zach and Danny sat with their mouths hanging open, watching her as she picked up a bolt gun. Rose shot a hole in the front of the seat and disintegrated his seatbelt with a squeeze of her fist.

"No." She spoke in a ethereal voice. "You are the fear and darkness, but you will die. The thought of you will be forever, but you will be destroyed." Toby was sucked out into space roaring.

Zach gulped and pressed a button while Danny still stared. Rose sat down and slowly went back to normal as a metal shutter sealed the hole.

"We've still lost the gravity funnel. We can't escape the black hole."  
Rose looked up at him sadly. "But we stopped him. That's what the Doctor would've done."  
"Some victory. We're going in."

They watched the planet fall in silence. Danny spoke to Rose. "The planet's lost orbit. It's gone. I'm sorry."  
Zach pulled a lever. "Accelerate. I did my best. But hey, the first human beings to fall inside a black hole. How about that? History."

The rocket stopped with a jolt and Rose flew out of her seat. "What happened?"  
Zach looked at the screen in disbelief. "We're turning. We're turning around. We're turning away!"  
A familiar voice came through the speakers. "Sorry about the hijack, Captain. This is the good ship TARDIS. Now, first thing's first. Have you got a Rose Tyler on board?"

Rose was never happier in her entire life. She practically screamed back at him. "I'm here! It's me! Where are you?"

She could almost hear his smirk over the intercom. "I'm just towing you home. Gravity schmavity. My people practically invented black holes. Well, in fact, they did." Rose rolled her eyes. "In a couple of minutes, we'll be nice and safe. Oh, and Captain? Can we do a swap? Say, if you give me Rose Tyler, I'll give you Ida Scott? How about that?"

Zach and Danny grinned. "She's alive!"  
"Yes. Thank God."  
"Yeah! Bit of oxygen starvation, but she should be all right." His voice became sad. "I couldn't save the Ood. I only had time for one trip. They went down with the planet. Ah! Entering clear space. End of the line. Mission closed."

* * *

Rose ran into the TARDIS and was met by the Doctor's arms. They could feel each other's smiles in their shoulders.

Rose choked up. "I thought you were gone."  
"Me? Nah. I'd never leave you Rose Tyler." He set back on the floor, but kept his arms around her.  
She gave him her tongue-in-teeth grin. "I hope so, because you're never gonna get rid of me."

The Doctor gave her a faltering smiled and turned to the console.  
"Zach? We'll be off, now. Have a good trip home. And the next time you get curious about something- Oh, what's the point. You'll just go blundering in. The human race."

Ida's voice came over the speaker. "But Doctor, what did you find down there? That creature, what was it?"  
"I don't know. Never did decipher that writing. But that's good. The day I know everything? Might as well stop."

Rose looked up at him seriously. "What do you think it was, really?"  
The Doctor looked at the TARDIS screen "I think we beat it. That's good enough for me."  
She took his hand and looked down. "It said I was going to die in battle."  
"Then it lied. Right, onwards, upwards. Ida? See you again, maybe."  
"I hope so."

Rose spoke to Zach and Danny. "And thanks, boys!"  
Ida's voice came in through the console for the last time. "Hang on though, Doctor. You never really said. You two, who are you?"  
The Doctor looked down at Rose with a grin. "Oh, the stuff of legend."

If only he knew how right he was.

* * *

A few days later, Rose and the Doctor sat on the sofa in the library. Rose was cuddled up next to the Doctor, reassuring herself that he was still there. And he wasn't complaining either. They were drinking tea and discussing safer places to go. They both decided they never wanted to use the random button again, or at least not in the near future.

The Doctor jumped off the couch, causing Rose to almost spill her tea.  
"Oi! Watch it you daft alien."  
"Psh, you don't think I'm daft do you? 'Cos I'm not. I'm a genius and I know where I'm going to take you next."

He pulled her along to the console room and landed the TARDIS with a thud. He grabbed his coat and ran to open the door with Rose trailing behind him.

The door revealed the side of a metal containers.  
"Ah." He turned back and closed the door behind him.  
"Did you even pass your driving test, Doctor?"  
"Uh, they didn't have them."  
"You mean you didn't sign up for one."  
"Hey, at least I get you to places in one piece!"  
"I'm sure that's the TARDIS's doing."

He huffed and acted offended as he went to open the door again. They opened the door to reveal a modest neighborhood. Rose found a poster. "So near future, eh?"

The Doctor strutted down the street. "I had a passing fancy. Only it didn't pass, it stopped. Thirtieth Olympiad."  
Rose came up beside him. "No way! Why didn't I think of this? That's great."  
He went on rambling "Only seems like yesterday a few naked Greek blokes were tossing a discus about, wrestling each other in the sand with crowds stood around baying. No, wait a minute, that was Club Med. Just in time for the opening ceremony, tonight, I thought you'd like that. Last one they had in London was dynamite. Wembley, 1948. I loved it so much, I went back and watched it all over again. Fella carrying the torch. Lovely chap, what was his name? Mark? John? Mark? Legs like pipe cleaners, but strong as a whippet."

Rose stopped to look at a lampost to see several missing children posters.  
"Doctor."  
"And in those days, everybody had a tea party to go to."  
"Doctor!"  
"Did you ever have one of those little cakes with the crunchy ball bearings on top?"  
"You should really look at this."  
"Do you know those things? Nobody else in this entire galaxy's ever even bothered to make edible ball bearings. Genius."

"DOCTOR!"  
He turned and walked over to Rose and read a couple of the posters.  
"What's taking them, do you think?" He looked around the street. "Snatching children from a thoroughly ordinary street like this. Why's it so cold? Is someone reducing the temperature?"  
Rose scrutinized the posters. "It says they all went missing this week. Why would a person do something like this?"  
The Doctor looked at her. "What makes you think it's a person?"

* * *

**A/N: **Soooo yeah. Review maybe? Oh by the way, for that guest who asked, Rose_** IS NOT**_ a Time Lady. Glad you asked.


	10. Chapter 10: Meet Aimee

**A/N: **Twenty-seven reviews, twelve favorites, and thirty-five followers? *twirls around while handing out cookies* So I have some explaining to do. You're all asking _"WHAT HAPPENED TO THE MISSING CHAPTERS?" _Well, I forgot to upload an important part of the story. *dodges tomatoes* So enjoy it! I promise, a storm is coming.

* * *

Rose grinned at the trench coat billowing behind the man with sticky up hair. She knew he was looking for her, and that was the best feeling in the world.

"Cake?", she questioned and he spun on his heel. She held out a fairy cake with his beloved edible ball bearings. To as where she had found the decorations, he had no clue.

He took the cake with a delighted smirk. "Top banana!" He took a bite. "I can't stress this enough. Ball bearings you can eat! Masterpiece!" He shoved another bite in his mouth as they continued to walk down the street.

Stars twinkled up above and the knowledge that they had saved the world set a sense of peace to their minds. Rose looped her arm around his. Since almost losing him on Krop Tor, she did little things like holding his hand tighter, leaning on him, and hugging him goodnight. It gave her reassurance that he was still there and wasn't about to leave her. He loved these little acts of love, even though he wouldn't admit to it. It would hurt to much to love her and then lose her, but he already knew he had lost the battle. He just wouldn't admit it.

"I thought I'd lost you again.", she stage whispered in to the clear night.  
"Not on a night like this." He smiled at her and finished his cake. "This is a night for lost things being found. Come on." He grabbed her hand and let them melt together as he pulled her to a brisk walk.  
"What now?"  
"I want to go to the Games. It's what we came for.", he pointed out.  
Rose smiled. "Go on, give us a clue. Which events do we do well in?"  
He smiled down at her "Well, I will tell you this. Poland surprises everyone in the shot put."  
"Really? You're joking, aren't you?" He smirked at her with an eyebrow raised. "Doctor, are you serious or are you joking?"  
The Doctor gave a full fledged grin. "Wait and see."

A loud bang was heard and multicoloured sparks filled the air. Wonder danced in their eyes as they watched the fireworks. It was a good kind of explosion. One that started off something great and fun instead of bringing death and sadness. Rose held the Doctor's hand tighter.

"You know what?" She looked up at him. "They keep on trying to split us up, but they never ever will."  
The Doctor looked at her, his eyes holding a deep sadness and longing. He gave a sad, slow smile. "Never say never. Ever."  
Her smile faded as she held his gaze. Something would separate them, but no matter what it was, she was fully persuaded in her mind that he wouldn't be alone. She would always come back for him. Lowly shop girl from Earth, or not, he needed somebody and she decided to be the one. She gave a determined smile and looked up at the sky. "Nah, we'll always be okay, you and me." She nudged his shoulder with hers and looked up at him almost shyly. "Don't you reckon, Doctor?"

Meanwhile, the Doctor could feel something wrong. Maybe it was coming through his connection with the TARDIS. "There's something in the air. Something coming."  
"What?"  
"A storm's approaching."

Rose looked him over. He seemed set on edge. "What sort of storm?"

"Nevermind." The feeling, almost nagging, went away in his mind. "Shall we see the games?" He smiled at her. She agreed, but caught the falter in his grin. Something was wrong, but neither would know what, until it was to late.

* * *

Rose and the Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS onto the cold planet. The planet was completely flat except a forest to the right that seemed several kilometers away. The sky was a soft, minty colour with no clouds. There was a chilly breeze that swept across the ground that was covered with a little bit of snow.

"Blimey! It's cold out here.", Rose exclaimed while rubbing her hands up and down her arms. She had a pair of black jeans on, which kept her legs warm, but her powder blue tshirt wasn't doing anything for her.  
The Doctor, on the other hand, was comfortably warm in his trench coat and superior Time Lord capabilities. He flicked his tongue out into the air. "It seems to be 1.66667 degrees out here. You best go get a coat, Rose."  
Rose rolled her eyes. "Really now? I thought it was a balmy twenty-three out here."  
The Doctor raised an eyebrow at her. "I wouldn't want to have to treat you for hypothermia."  
"Sheesh. Time Lords have no sense of sarcasm. I'll go get my coat."

She ran back into the TARDIS before he could retort. She came back bundled up in a pink coat and a black hat and gloves.

"Ok. I'm ready.", she smiled at the Time Lord who was bouncing impatiently on his heels.  
"Took you long enough." He held out his hand to grab hers and they starting walking toward the bunch of trees.  
She stuck her tongue at him. "So why are we here again?"

The Doctor looked around the area with his nose scrunched up. "Caught something on the scanners. It barely came up, so it must advanced technology. Something I haven't since in years though. Actually-" He thought for a moment. "Nevermind."

They walked for a while, observing the potentially boring landscape. They came to the edge of the woods and stopped. The Doctor let go of Rose's hand, and it felt vaguely empty. He scanned the area with his sonic screwdriver with a frown.

"What is it, Doctor?"  
"There seems to be a quite a few telepathic being around here somewhere."  
"Are we going to go find them?", Rose asked.  
"That's I like about you. The domestic approach."

They searched the forest and came across a large, militarily building. It looked like it had been patched together with several pieces of metal. A scan with the Doctor's sonic screwdriver revealed that the telepaths were in the building. He looked over at Rose with a twinkle in his eye. "Shall we?"

"Let's.", she smiled back.

They stalked their way up to the door. It was, of course, locked, but that was a quick fix with the screwdriver. They came down a hallway and came to a locked room. Through the door window, a wall of machinery was seen. Rose and the Doctor opened the door and came over to inspect the seemingly disorganized mess. Rose looked at some things on a table as the Doctor donned his glasses.

"Oh, you are beautiful."  
Rose gave a cheeky grin to his back. "Why, thank you."  
He turned back to her and she smirked at his pink ears. "Right. Uh, I was talking about this-" He waved a hand to the wall. "-here, not you. Oi, that was rude. Not that I don't think you _aren't _beautiful. I mean, you are. I mean, I- Uh..."  
Rose laughed at his stuttering. "Don't hurt yourself, Doctor."  
"Right." He spun back to his previous subject and scanned it. This wasn't real. It had to be borrowed, or at least, stolen technology. He and Sarah Jane had helped destroy the Xhinns in 1952, back in his third regeneration. He also made sure the main fleet was destroyed too. They shouldn't be here.

"Rose, you need to go back to the TARDIS."  
She gave him a confused look. "What? Why?"  
"This place is built with Xhinn technology and I was pretty sure they were gone. Only they may not be which means-"

He was interrupted by a a humanoid creature coming through the doorway. It had dark, almost black skin. It was a bit taller than the Doctor and had hundreds of little eyes covering it's mouth-free face. It hair was replaced with grayish white tentacles. It came floating through the door instead of walking and was now staying in place, but still not touching the ground. It flexed it's right hand, which was a bright blue colour.

Rose gaped at the life form. It was horrifying, yet amazing in a odd, weird, crazy sort of way.

"-we might meet one."  
"That's- That's a Xhinn?", she pointed to the humanoid floating in the doorway.  
"Yes, they usually look completely human though. They're shape changers. Sort of."  
"Right.", she looked over it's face, "How do we talk to it?"  
"It has ears, Rose, and it can hear everything you're saying."  
"But- But how does the poor thing talk? It doesn't have a mouth!"  
"Xhinns are telepathic. Quite useful actually. They don't have to go through language barriers. It should be able to speak to you since you have a low telepathic field."

Rose felt a light buzz in her head as the Xhinn spoke to them telepathically. "_You have caused a security breach. You will explain yourselves."_

The Doctor scratched the back of his neck while Rose glanced at him worriedly. "Well, you see- Our ship, uh, crash landed here."

"_It did not. We caught it on our scanners and brought it back to our base. There is nothing wrong with it._"  
"Right, uh-"

Rose rolled her eyes and stepped forward. "Sorry about 'im lying." She glared the Doctor who was trying to grab her arm and pull her back. "See, we're, uh, travelers. We landed on this planet to see what's here. Sorry about breaking into this room. We just wanted to see what, I mean, _who_ was here."

The Xhinn stared at her for a moment before replying. "_Thank you for being honest." _Rose and the Doctor let out a little sigh of relief._ "But I'm afraid we will have arrest you."_

"What?!", they said together._  
_"_It is customary to keep prisoners for unintentional security breech reasons for a week._"  
"But we haven't done anything!", the Doctor spluttered.  
"_You have broken into a high security room. You will learn not to do it again._"

They didn't have time to plead their case as several human males came through room to drag them off to jail after knocking them out cold.

* * *

"We'll visit a lovely, no, _brilliant_ planet, he says. There'll be no running for our lives or jail time, he says. It'll be relaxing, he says."  
"You can stop the pop culture references now, Rose."  
"I'm just joking, Doctor. At least this cell has cots and we don't have to lay on the ground. It's rather relaxing if you close your eyes and forget your in a dirty cell."  
An unappreciative noise came from above her.

Rose was laying on a cot of your stereotypical cell. The walls were made out of a dull, silver metal and one side of the room had iron bars from floor to ceiling, with a small opening near the bottom of the door. A lone light bulb hung from the ceiling and had a metal chain hanging from it that could turn it on and off. There was a bucket in the corner for personal needs. A set of bunkbeds hung from the side of the right wall. A thin, grubby mattress was on each cot, but no sheets or blankets to be heard of.  
Rose lay on the bottom bunk with her folded hand behind her head, watching the Doctor's converse hanging near her head. He was perched on the top bunk, looking around the room for a way to escape, but there was nothing. His coat, which usually held his sonic screwdriver, had been taken from him. There were no man-sized air vents or guards to woo, and he didn't think they were small enough to wiggle out from beneath the door. He could sit and wait until they found out what punishment would be doled out to them.

Rose sat up as she heard soft, slow footsteps padding down the hall. The Doctor and Rose looked to the cell door expectantly. A young girl, around ten earth years in age, came into view. She was average height, but a little on the thin side. Her complexion was pale and her eyes a light, piercing sea blue to match. Freckles splattered across her small button nose and cheeks like constellations in the night sky. Her light blonde hair hung straight past her shoulders. She wore a plain, dark grey sundress. Her small, bare feet were the only place dirty on her. The tray she held was assorted with fruits and vegetables native to the planet. She stopped in front of the door, unsure of what to say or do.

"Hello", Rose smiled at the young girl.  
"Hello.", she said in English, without an accent.  
The Doctor leapt off his bunk, startling the child. "You're talking out loud."  
"Yes, that's why they made it my job to take care of you."  
Rose looked confused. "So you're not a Xhinn then, are you?"  
The girl shook her head. "No, I'm mostly human, only part Xhinn. I am telepathic when I want to be, but my body is like a human."  
The Doctor looked her over. "Humans and Xhinn are incompatible." The Doctor started on a rant about how that would be theoretically impossible, while the girl bent down the slide the tray underneath the floor. She reluctantly turned to leave when Rose called out to her.

"What's your name then?"  
"My name?", the girl asked confused.  
"What do they call you?"  
The girl paused for a moment before giving a shy smile. "The Creators call me Pet, but they gave me the Earth name, Aimee."  
"Oh, very pretty. It's French, isn't it, Doctor?"  
"Yes, I believe so. Aimee, are there any other children like you here?"  
It was Aimee's turn to raise an eyebrow. "Children?"  
"You know. Young ones." The Doctor put his hand down to demonstrate her height. "Small people like you?"  
Aimee shook her head. "No.", she said sadly.  
"Where's your parents?", Rose asked.  
"Parents?"  
"A mum or dad?"  
A look of recognition came across Aimee's face, but it was sober. "My mum left this planet right after I was born. I don't think she wanted me, or they took me from her." She looked down at her feet and rubbed her bare toes together nervously. "I don't know who my dad is."

Rose came over the cell door and sat down. "Do you have anything to do then, since there aren't people your age.?" Aimee shook her head no and Rose patted the ground. "Do you want eat with us then?" Aimee eyed the Doctor warily. Rose laughed, "He a little crazy sometimes, but he won't do anything to hurt you." "Oi!" Aimee smiled and sat down at the front of the door, in front of Rose.

"Are these okay to eat, Doctor?" Rose held up an oversized blueberry. He picked one up and licked it.  
"I think so." He settled down cross-legged on the floor by Rose. They continued their breakfast for a little while until the Doctor spoke up.  
"So, Aimee, what does a little girl like you like to do around here then?"  
Aimee paused in thought for a moment. "I watch the Creators work in their labs. I go outside in the forest and walk and climb trees. I take care of the Creator's projects. Sometimes I build stuff."  
"Who are these Creators you keep talking about?"  
Aimee tilted her head. "You met them. You call them Xhinn."  
Rose and the Doctor gave each other a knowing look. Something weird was going on here.  
"What about these projects you take care of, Aimee? What are they?"  
"Things like me."  
The Doctor furrowed his brow. "Things like you? You mean people?"  
She shook her head. "No, not people. The people died. There's only animals left now."  
"Why did they die?", Rose asked.  
"They weren't strong enough."  
"Do you know why?"  
"The creators crossed DNA. Some of them don't match very well, but mine did.", she smiled.  
Rose looked horrified. "You mean your were a genetic experiment?"  
"Yes."  
"But doesn't that bother you? That you have no mum or dad?"  
"No, the Creators take care of me and I help them in return. Should it bother me?"

Rose and the Doctor were equally horrified. The Xhinn were holding people here to do genetic experiments. Who knew what or who they had upstairs in all those laboratories and what kinds of treatment they were subject to. One thing was for sure, they had to stop it.

"Aimee, where do they get the animals and people from?", the Doctor asked.  
"Nowhere. This planet has no animals or people. They get them from ships that visit here. Your the only ones to come along in a very long time."  
"So how do they run these, uh, experiments?"  
"They don't anymore. They only build things now." She got up, brushed herself off and picked up the empty tray. "I have to go now." She turned to go but stopped. "Please don't ask the Creators what I told you about. I don't want them to be angry with me."  
Rose smiled back at her. "Of course not."

* * *

"Why would they run genetic experiments on people? I mean, it doesn't make sense." The Doctor stopped his pacing to run his hand through his hair. "They have nothing here on this planet to use their knowledge against."  
"Maybe their trying to find a cure for a sickness."  
"No, no. Xhinn don't get sick and they wouldn't be looking for cures for anybody else, that's for sure. My idea is that they're trying to find out how other beings run. Most likely so that they can control their minds."  
"But why? Wouldn't they just have gone and controlled them already? They already seem capable enough to control people. That one got inside my head easy enough, and apparently yours."  
"I let him in my mind so we could speak to him. Humans, however, have fragile minds." Rose rolled her eyes. "But you're right. If they can get off this planet, then why are they still here?"

* * *

**A/N:** Let's strive for thirty-three reviews before the next chapter! I'll even put on a pot of coffee and some tea out for you guys.


	11. Chapter 11: May I Have a Mum?

**WARNING: CERTAIN PARTS OF THIS CHAPTER COULD BE CONSIDERED NON-CON. JUS' SAYING.**

**A/N: **SO SORRY FOR THE DELAY. School and life have gotten to me.

* * *

Rose sighed and tugged at her bonds again. It was hopeless. Xhinns had their bondage techniques down pat. She was pretty sure even the Doctor couldn't get his way out of them if he was tied up. She hadn't seen him since this morning, where she was rudely awakened by someone pulling her off the bed by her wrist. She was about to ask the Doctor what was going on when she saw him being dragged down the opposite hall. She would've memorized the way back if it hadn't been for their captors decision to knock her out. She woke up in a laboratory (or something close to that) and tied to a hospital bed. Even worse, she seemed to be wearing a medical down and her TARDIS key was missing. At least she still had her knickers.

A oriental looking woman, who was actually a Xhinn, came over and started digging a needle around in her arm while Rose squirmed on the table.

"Do you really have to dig around in my arm like that?", Rose asked sharply. The lady gave no reply and Rose rolled her eyes at her. "Of course, company policy. No fraternizing with the lab rats. You could at least tell me why I'm tied up her and why you're drawing blood."

The woman took needle out and Rose tried to peer around her arm to see what she was doing. The woman turned back around to face her.

"_We need your h__omo sapiens d__eoxyribonucleic acid__s for our b__ioinformatics__ program. I will return when the denaturation and recombinantion with the dominus temporis __d__eoxyribonucleic acids is complete."_

Rose blinked. "Right." The lady walked out of the room with the petri dish of Rose's blood. Rose laid back on the bed, inspecting her bound wrists. She looked back up at the door. If they weren't prisoners, she had a feeling the nurse and the Doctor would get along wonderfully.

* * *

Aimee hid in the hole in the wall, waiting for Larien, the Xhinn medical nurse that helped with bioinformatics, left the room Rose was in. Aimee had no idea that the Xhinn could hear her tell the Doctor and Rose about the genetic experiments. Now they were going to be used in them. Aimee made up her mind to help them escape, even if she was only a little girl.

Larien left the room with a petri dish. Aimee guessed that it held Rose's DNA. She was pretty good at guessing what the scientists were doing after almost a decade of watching and learning. She slipped into the room to see Rose facing the ceiling with her eyes closed and jaw set.

"Miss Rose?"

Rose whipped her head down to see the fair-haired girl at her bedside. "Aimee?"

The young girl looked back at the door and whispered to Rose with tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry this happened. They heard me talking to you and the Doctor about it."

Rose smiled at the girl. "It's okay. This kind of stuff happens all the time."  
Aimee scrunched up her eyebrows. "It does?"

"Yep. That's we do. Visit planets, get caught, and escape. Lots of running though. Love the running."  
"How do I get you out then?" Aimee pulled the thick leather cuffs around Rose's wrist. It moved a little bit, but then stopped.  
After a few more tries Rose shook her head. "Don't worry about me. You need to find the Doctor. He'll get me out."

Aimee frowned. "I don't know where he is."

Rose thought for moment. "Your telepathic, yeah? Can you just talk to one person at a time in your head?"

"I don't think so." Aimee shook her head sadly.

"Rose looked her in the eye. "You've got to try, please? For me?"

Aimee smiled. "Ok."

"Now you go look for him. I'll try and get out of here." She worked on wiggling her arm out.  
Aimee pointed to a bit of metal sticking up on the arm of the chair near her wrist. "But you'll cut yourself."  
"I've had worse happen. Now go!"

Aimee nodded and ran out of the room with one last look at the woman in the bed.

* * *

Aimee ducked into an empty supply room down the dark hall to try talking to the Doctor. She closed her eyes and imagined the inside of her mind. It was small, light purple room filled with scientific equations and imaginary places. She looked around for the minds of people in the building. She could see all the Xhinn's pulsing, black orbs, a light blue and gold one for Rose, and a strong, and a dark blue orb that she thought probably belonged to the Doctor. She reached out to it and heard a deep voice speak.

"_What- Who is this?"_

"_Doctor? It's me, Aimee."_

The Doctor smiled, despite his being tied up to what was the equivalent of an office chair. "_You have more telepathic abilities than I thought._"

"_I am part Xhinn. Do you know where you're at?"_

"_They took me down the opposite hall from Rose. Have you seen her?"_

"_Yes. She told me to find you first. Said you'd get her out."  
_The Doctor smiled at Rose's trust in him. "_I will, but I need to find my ship first. They put my coat with it. _"

"_What does it look like?"_

"_A big, blue box."_

Aimee wondered past the holding cells and down the hall where the Doctor was being kept in one of the rooms. She looked in each room down the hall until she came to a storage bay filled with random things. In the middle stood a big, blue box, just as the Doctor had said. She looked around the room for a coat. Aimee picked up a tan trench coat off the floor and inspected it. She was sure it was the Doctor's. She reached out the his mind again.

"_Doctor? It is a brown coat?"_

"_Yes! There should be a sonic screwdriver in the right pocket."_

"_A sonic screwdriver?"_

"_Um, a silver stick with a blue light on the end. You'll know it when you see it."_

Aimee started pulling things out his right pocket. A wallet with blank paper, a few pieces of withered apple grass, a few friendship bracelets he, Jack, and Rose had made at a festival, a very long, striped scarf, and finally his sonic screwdriver. Aimee stuffed the other things back in his pocket. She walked into the TARDIS to put his coat in the ship and was taken aback by the inside. She threw the coat on the railing and walked around the room with a grin full of wonder. Tears pricked her eyes as she felt a warm, motherly buzz in her head. She never felt anything like it before. It felt as though the ship was alive. The rotor thrummed and Aimee could feel it's worry. She smiled at the ceiling before running out of the TARDIS with the sonic screwdriver in hand. On her way out of the storage bay, she stepped on something metal. She picked it up and inspected it. It was a key, but for metal it felt warm. She stuck in her pocket to examine it later and followed the Doctor's blue orb in her head.

* * *

Rose was working on getting her hand free when she heard footsteps approaching the doorway. She let out a vent of frustration and put her hand back in the leather strap. As expected, scientific nurse lady had come back, but time with two other scientists. One held a vial and a large needle, while the nurse held a sort-of clipboard and a machine that Rose recognized as a dermal regenerator. The last one came in with a bottle clearly labeled as chloroform. They seemed to be talking to one another.

"Oh, how bloody lovely.", Rose mumbled sarcastically.

The first man started pouring the contents of the vial into the needle while the nurse wrote things down on a clipboard. The other man was pouring chloroform on a rag and started walking over to her.

"Ok, ok. What are you doing to me? I least deserve to know that much before you knock me out."

The nurse walked over to her and spoke telepathically. _"We're transplanting a synthetic homo sapiens ovum combined with the recombinanted deoxyribonucleic acids into your uterus for bioinformatical study."_

"So let get this straight. Your going to make me pregnant so you can study genetic-" She waved her hand around. "-stuff?"

"_Yes. We're creating the ideal peons for our species."  
_"Guess there's no way I'm going to get out of this one, huh?", Rose snapped, very unhappy with their idea of creating servants.

"_If the genetically engineered fetus does not grow within a few hours we will let you go and your mate go."  
_"Two things, lady. One, he's not my mate and two, it my '_genetically engineered fetus'_ does decide to grow, you're letting me go anyway."

The nurse paid no attention to her rant, but instead motioned for the guy with the chloroform to go ahead.

"Ok, wait.", Rose said, "Is the chloroform necessary? Don't you know it's dangerous to humans?"

They eyed her warily. She crossed her fingers hoping they'd believe her. If she was going to used an experiment, she wanted to know what they were doing.  
_"It will hurt.",_ the nurse finally said.  
"I don't care. I'd rather be awake for whatever you're going to do to me."

The nurse talked to the man with the chloroform and he set the rag down. Rose breathed a momentary sigh of relief. The man with the needle came over and the nurse pulled her gown up.

"Oi! What do you think your doing?", she shouted.

They ignored her and the nurse pushed the long needle into her abdomen. Rose bit her cheek and held back a few tears, she wasn't expecting this kind of pain. The needle was quickly replaced with a dermal regenerator and her skin healed right up and she was left with only a dull throb of pain. The nurse pulled her gown back down and spoke, again, to the others and they took the equipment out of the room. The nurse turned back to her.

"_I'll be back in a few hours to check on it."_

Rose bit back a retort as she left the room. She kept talking about this -baby (if it even grew to be that)- as if was just a lab experiment. Rose wasn't even sure if it _would _grow. She had heard theories of genetic engineering and how it wouldn't work. She shook her head and went back to work on freeing herself.

* * *

Aimee found the Doctor, tied to a Xhinn office chair, a few rooms down from the TARDIS. One of his sleeves was rolled up to his elbow, his jacket on the floor, and he had the look of the Oncoming Storm in his eyes. If the situation wasn't so serious, Aimee would've found the time to laugh as his ridiculous appearance. Instead, she smirked and held up his sonic screwdriver. "Is this what you need, sir?"

He grinned at her. "Yes, and don't call me sir. Bring it over here, will you?" She walked over and he stared at the tiny screen. "Push that green button two times and hit the red one once, then point it at these ropes here."  
She did as she told and the Doctor was free to lean down and untie his ankles. He stood up and stretched to pick up his jacket. "Much better, do you know where they're keeping Rose."

Aimee started to lead him down the hall while looking for any Xhinn. "Yes, but I'm afraid they're going to do something to her. Larien, she's the head of the bioinformatics program, was taking a sample of her blood to the lab."

The Doctor grimaced. They had taken blood from him too.

"Aimee, what are they trying to do in this bioinformatics program?"

The thin girl looked up at him. "They say they're trying to create peons." She frowned. "That's what I am. A slave."

"But why?"

"They're ship crashed and they're stuck here. So their trying to recreate a society."

"I daresay it's not going well for them." The Doctor grabbed her hand and smiled at her. "Let's find Rose and get out of here."

Inside of him, a storm was brewing. They were manipulating people who stopped here on this planet and using their genetic material for creating slaves. He had to stop them from using Rose first, then he'd ruin what they had of this bioinformatics program.

* * *

Rose had finally gotten her left wrist free of it's bonds. It had a deep cut and was bleeding, but somehow she'd managed to get the chloroform-soaked rag tied around it. (She really hoped you couldn't absorb it through your skin.) She was working on the right wrist when she heard footsteps.

Not good.

She sat back in the chair, pulled the bloody rag off her arm, and tried to put her injured wrist back in it's spot. She relaxed when she realized it was the Doctor and Aimee.

"Oh, it's you!', she grinned.

The Doctor looked her over. "What happened?" She looked down and noticed her bleeding wrist and the blood on the table, rag, and gown.

"Long story, I'm ok though. Do you think you can get me out of here?"

The Doctor came over and used the sonic screwdriver to let her loose. She hopped off the tabled and clutched her side. The Doctor hovered over her and buzzed the sonic screwdriver over her. "They hurt you. What happened?"

"Doctor, can we please talk about it later? I can walk and they didn't do anything life threatening. That nurse is going to be back soon and I'd rather not meet the guards again."

The Doctor noticed the lump on her head that matched his own. "They were rather physical fellows, weren't they."

Rose flinched, reminded of another 'physical fellow' in her life. "Yeah."

* * *

They made it to the TARDIS without anyone seeing them. The Doctor was disappointed and surprised that Aimee had already seen the inside of his ship. He took her to the library where she even more amazed and had run from bookshelf to bookshelf in merriment. It was around Aimee's bedtime when Rose finished her shower, so she found herself putting her to bed while the Doctor took care of the Xhinn's laboratories. Aimee had a proper bath and even picked out fuzzy pajamas with polka-dots covering them. Rose had brushed, dried, and braided her hair like she used to do to her dolls when she when younger. Aimee was now snuggled in a very pink bed, almost asleep from the bedtime story Rose had read her. Rose sat by the bed, stroking her hair and feeling sorry for the poor child, who had a life of loneliness and slavery.

"Miss Rose?", she mumbled.

Rose smiled at her sleepy voice. "Yes?"

"I don't have a mum."  
"I know. I'm sorry.", she said sadly.

"Could you be my mum?"  
Rose was little scared at the prospective of being a mum and let out a shaky laugh. "I'm sorry, Aimee. I don't think that would work."

"Oh." A little tear escaped her eye.  
"We'll find you a mum."

"Why can't the Doctor and you be my mum and dad?"

Rose gaped at her almost sleeping form. "We're not toget- The Doctor and I- We're not married, Aimee. And life in the TARDIS isn't very kid friendly."

"Oh." Aimee closed her teary eyes. "'Night Miss Rose."  
Rose gave her a sad smile and started singing a lullaby to hear. She didn't know where it came from, it just came to her.

_Hush, my golden child._

_Lay your head to sleep._

_Close your eyes and dream pleasant dreams.._

_Time will flow; life goes on._

_We will fly through starry skies_

_And I will hold your dreams._

_Hush, my golden child._

_My precious child to keep.  
I will hold you close and never let you go._

_Time will flow; life goes on._

_We will fly through starry skies_

_And I will hold your dreams._

_Hush, my golden child._

_You are sound asleep._

_May you know and feel my love for thee._

_Time will flow; life goes on._

_We will fly through starry skies_

_And I will hold your dreams._

* * *

Rose found the Doctor tinkering in the control room the next morning. She set a mug of tea on the grating next to his legs and sat down on the jump seat with her own. He wiggled out from under the console, his hair and shirt rumpled.

"Morning, Rose", he grinned.  
She smiled back. "Morning."  
He took a sip of his tea. "Ah, tea. Good for the synapses."  
Rose grinned. "Like you need help with that."  
"Not really, no.", he winked at her.

She laughed at him and became serious. "What are we going to do with her, Doctor?"  
"Who?"  
"Aimee."

"Yes, Aimee. I suppose we should take her to Earth. The TARDIS isn't the best place for a child."  
"I agree, but where who will we take her to? Aren't people going to question her species?"  
"We could take her to 3014. Interspecies relations are common by then."  
Rose looked appalled. "We can't just take her to any random family." The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "Isn't there anyone you know that would take her? Like a previous companion?"  
The Doctor frowned and thought for a moment. "I don't know anyone that would a take a child."

They in silence for a while, finishing their tea. Rose's mind was trying to think of someone who would take Aimee. She knew her mum wouldn't and Jack wouldn't exactly be the best father, plus the Doctor had no idea that Rose knew he was alive. She thought of all the people they knew well and came to a conclusion.

"Doctor, what about Sarah Jane?"

The Doctor spluttered. "Sarah Jane?"  
"She doesn't have any children, but she would like to, yeah?"  
"I- I wouldn't know."  
Rose smiled and rolled her eyes. "Let's find out."  
The Doctor started setting the coordinates for Sarah Jane's backyard and Rose went to wake up Aimee.

* * *

Sarah Jane and Aimee loved each other instantly and Rose couldn't feel a sad by seeing them together. Although she had only been with Aimee for a few days, she felt some attachment to her. They spent the day with Sarah Jane and by evening, the Doctor had his fill of domestics and went back to the TARDIS. It was getting pretty late and Rose decided to leave. She stood up and Aimee ran over to give her a hug.

"Thanks for giving me a mum, Miss Rose."  
Rose choked on her laugh. "Anything for you, Aimee. Thank you for saving me and the Doctor."

The young girl grinned up at her. "Your welcome. Though I do wish you could've been my mum."  
Rose smiled sadly at her and looked up at Sarah Jane, who smiled back. "Sarah Jane's a better mum than I would be, I'm sure. Goodbye, Aimee. We'll visit soon, okay?"

Aimee gave her one last hug. "Bye."

Rose gave Sarah Jane a hug. "Thanks for everything."  
"Of course, Rose. And remember, if you ever need to find me, I'll be here."  
"Thanks, but I'll find you even if I don't need you. I don't want to be strangers anymore." Rose laughed.  
"Me neither. Goodbye, Rose.", she pulled back and smiled.  
"Bye, Sarah."

* * *

**A/N:** Review my lovelies! Two new chapters coming up_ tonight!_


	12. Chapter 12: Ghosts of the Past

**A/N: **Second chapter for tonight! Doomsday is approaching, but first, enjoy a bit o' fluff.

* * *

Rose caught the Doctor in the kitchen a few morning later with his hand stuck in the jelly jar. At least he had the decency to look guilty. She shook her head as she went about the kitchen to make tea.

"Honestly, Doctor. That's the fifth, _no sixth,_ time in the past month I've caught you doing that. And at Chloe's house too, may I remind you. It wasn't even your jam!"

"_Rose,_ this is _my_ jam and _my_ TARDIS. I can do what I like. And I apologized for eating their jam."

She eyed in hand in the jar and turned back to take two mugs out of the cupboard. A dark blue one with brown stripes and a gold one covered in pink roses, both a bit chipped. She placed a breakfast tea bag in her mug and an Earl Grey in his mug. He tapped his foot on the floor and she knew he was right behind her. She rolled her eyes and turned around.

"Yes?"

"Aren't you going to help me get my hand out of this jar? I can't get it out!"

"Depends. Since you don't use your manners does that mean I don't have to use mine?", she asked with a smirk.

He looked confused. "Ok? If that's what you want..."

"Then no."

"What? But how am I supposed to get it out of here?", he asked, holding up the jar with his hand inside.  
"You refuse to use your manners and I refuse to use mine."

He sat down at the table with a huff. "I'm sure on my 'Rules for Companions' list there's one that says you have to help me in times of crisis."

She turned on the stove-top to heat up the water and smirked over her shoulder. "Never got the list."

Rose walked out the kitchen doorway calling out over her shoulder. "I'll be back in a mo." The Doctor sat at the table, trying to wedge his hand out of the jar, but it was to no avail. Rose came back in a few minutes with a tube of something in her hand. She set it on the counter and picked up the whistling teapot.

"Doctor, quit trying to get your hand out. You'll only make it swell more."

"Then what am I supposed to do? The Lord of Time can't go out with a jar of jelly on his hand!"  
"Who knows? You might start a new fad."

He rolled his eyes as she finished pouring the steaming water into their mugs. She grabbed the bottle of lotion and came over to the table.

"Ok, let me see your hand?"

"What? I thought you weren't going to help me.", he asked suspiciously.

"I was joking, Doctor. Of course I'll help you. It'd be embarrassing to walk around around with you like that."  
"Oi! What's that?" He pointed to the bottle she was opening.

"It's lotion. It'll help get your hand out."  
"But we'll have to throw the jelly away!"

Rose sighed and squirted some lotion into her hand. A lovely vanilla-like smell wafted in the air. The Doctor sniffed appreciatively. "We'll we can't use it now can we? Come on give me your hand."

She smeared lotion around his wrist and of the edge of the jar. She worked on twisting his hand and the jar around, getting it loose.

"Smells like you."

"What?", she laughed.

"This- This stuff. It kind of smells like you."

Rose laughed again. "I guess I'll take that as a complement since you've never asked me to take it off when I wear it." She got his hand out of the jar with a little more effort and then went to throw it away.

"Your a lifesaver, Rose.", he said while inspecting the damage done to his hand.

"Thank you. Better wash off while I get the tea finished."

They sat down at the table with tea and jelly free. The Doctor smelt his hand.

"Ugh. I smell like a human girl."

Rose took this opportunity to tease him a bit. She leaned forward in her hands with her elbows on the table. "I'm a human girl.", she said quite seriously. "Do I smell bad?"

He stammered for a bit. "No, no. I didn't mean that. Quite the contrary. You smell good. I mean- Not that I've smelled you. Well, I have, but not in a creeper kind of way. Like a Rose-happens-to-be-standing-next-to-me kind of way. Time Lord senses and all."

Rose let out a melodious laugh. "Don't hurt yourself, Doctor. I was only teasing you."

"That was a loaded question!"  
"Sorry. Can we see my mum?"

"You sit there and tease me, and then ask to see you mum?"

"Come on, Doctor. I haven't seen her in a few weeks and I have laundry to be washed."  
"Why don't you use the TARDIS washer?"

"Because _somebody_ was trying to make it sonic, but I won't name names."

"Fine. We'll go see your mother."

"Thank you!" She gave him a hug and left to go pack her dirty things, leaving her unfinished tea on the table.

* * *

Jackie was more excited than Rose had ever seen her before. "Guess who's coming to visit? You're just in time. He'll be here at ten past. Who do you think it is?"  
Rose looked at the Doctor who shook his head. He thought he might be scarred for life by Jackie's kiss. "I don't know.", Rose said.  
"Oh go on, guess."  
"No, I hate guessing. Just tell me."  
If Jackie had been a toddler, she would've been jumping up and down. "It's your granddad! Granddad Prentice. He's on his way any minute, Right, cup of tea!"

Rose gaped at her retreating mother. "She's gone mad!"  
The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Tell me something new."  
Rose gestured a hand in disbelief toward to kitchen as she started walking to it. "Granddad Prentice, that's her dad. But he died, like, ten years ago." She back at him in shock. "She's lost it." She walked into the kitchen. "Mum? What you just said about granddad."

"Any second now, love."  
"But he passed away. His heart gave out. Do you remember that?":  
"Of course I do."  
"Then how can he come back?"  
"Why don't you ask him yourself?" She smiled at the clock. "Ten past. Here he comes."

The Doctor and Rose gaped unashamedly at the ghost standing by Jackie. It did indeed look like her granddad, Prentice.

Jackie grinned at them. "Here we are, then. Dad, say hello to Rose. Ain't she grown?"

They ran out of the building before he could say anything.

* * *

Rose had somewhat of an idea of what they were doing. Maybe traveling in space had done her a bit of good after all.

"As soon as the cones activate, if that line goes into the red, press that button there. If it doesn't stop-" The Doctor handed Rose his sonic screwdriver. "Setting fifteen B. Hold it against the port, eight seconds and stop."  
She looked over the screwdriver, "Fifteen B, eight seconds."  
"If it goes into the blue, activate the deep scan on the left."  
"wait, hang on a minute, I know. Push that one."  
The Doctor smiled. "Close."  
"That one?"  
"Now you've just killed us."  
She grimaced, "That one."  
The Doctor smiled at her like she just had finished a marathon. "Yeah! Now, what've we got? Two minutes to go?"

(He ran out and activated the cones.  
"What's the line doing?", he yelled.  
"It's all right. It's holding!"

Jackie looked her daughter over. "You even look like him."

Rose gave her a confused look. "How do you mean?" She looked down at the panel and the screwdriver in her hand and gave a little chuckle. "I suppose I do, yeah."  
"You've changed so much."  
"For the better.", she reassured her mom.  
"I suppose."

Rose sighed. "Mum, I used to work in a shop."  
"I've worked in shops. What's wrong with that?"  
"No- No, I didn't mean that."  
Jackie gave a sad smile. "I know what you meant. What happens when I'm gone?"  
Her daughter shook her head. "Don't talk like that."  
"No, but really. When I'm dead and buried, you won't have any reason to come back home. What happens then?"  
Rose looked down at the console. Her mother had asked a good question. A question that she herself usually tried to avoid. "I don't know."  
"Do you think you'll ever settle down?"  
She looked her mum in the eye. "The Doctor never will, so I can't. I'll just keep on traveling."

Jackie looked at her daughter and spoke to herself more than she was speaking to Rose. "And you'll keep on changing. In forty years time, fifty, there'll be this woman, this strange woman, walking through the marketplace on some planet a billion miles from Earth. But she's not Rose Tyler. Not anymore." She thought about how they had adopted Rose. "She's not even human."

Rose gave her a mum questioning glance and was about to tell her mum she'd always be human, but was interrupted by the Doctor's yell. "Here we go!"

Rose gave her a sad smile, turned back to the console, and yelled the reading back to the Doctor. "The scanner's working. It says delta one six!"

* * *

Rose shuffled through the endless pockets of the Doctor's trenchcoat.

_Blimey, why don't we just hide in here when people are chasing us? Ah ha!_

She grabbed the physic paper and cautiously made her way out the TARDIS. She donned a white lab coat and looked at the physic paper. It was empty, of course. She made it through several check stations before reaching an important looking came in and was immediately transfixed by a sphere in the middle of the room.

"Can I help you?", a male voice asked.  
Rose tried to answer, but her attention seemed to be pulled by the sphere. "I was just-"  
"Try not to look. It does that to everyone. What do you want?"  
She looked at the man and got out the physic paper. "Sorry. They sent me from personnel. They said some man had been taken prisoner. Some sort of Doctor? I'm just checking the lines of communication. Did they tell you anything?"  
He raised his eyebrow. "Can I see your authorization?"  
She smiled and handed him the physic paper. "Sure."  
He smiled back "That's lucky. You see, everyone at Torchwood has at least a basic level of psychic training. This paper is blank, and you're a fake." Both their smiles fell as he barked out orders. "Seal the room. Call security. Samuel, can you check the door locks? She just walked right in."

Rose's jaw fell as she saw who Samuel was. It was Mickey Smith. Her best friend, Mickey Smith. The man who had help her get better after Jimmy Stone.

"Doing it now, sir.", he answered the other man, whose name was Rajesh.  
"Well, if you'd like to take a seat.", Rajesh offered to Rose. She sat down dumbstruck. _How?_

* * *

"_Yvonne? I think you should see this. We've got a visitor. We don't know who she is, but funnily enough, she arrived at the same time as the Doctor."_

Yvonne turned the computer towards the Doctor to reveal Rejesh and Rose.  
"She one of yours?", Yvonne asked.  
"Never seen her before in my life."  
Yvonne smiled sweetly. "Good. Then we can have her shot."  
The Doctor and Rose both tensed up and Jackie was ready to bash the Doctor's head in. "Oh, all right then. It was worth a try." He pointed at the screen. "That's- That's Rose Tyler."  
Rose waved to them with a faltering smile. "_Sorry. Hello._"

Yvonne pointed to the screen and then jerked a thumb back to Jackie. "Well, if that's Rose Tyler, who's she?"  
"I'm her mother.", Jackie almost growled.  
"Oh, you travel with her mother?", she asked bemused.  
Jackie threw the Doctor a pointed look. "He kidnapped me."  
The Doctor rolled his eyes. "_Please._ When Torchwood comes to write my complete history, don't tell people I traveled through time and space with her mother."  
Jackie smacked him upside the head. "Charming."  
'I've got a reputation to uphold!"

Yvonne spoke over the intercom. "Excuse me? Everyone? I thought I said stop the ghost shift. Who started the program? But I ordered you to stop! Who's doing that?" The levers started moving and Yvonne was getting scared. "Right, step away from the monitors, everyone. Gareth, Addy, stop what you're doing, right now. Matt, step away from your desk. That's an order! Stop the levers! Andrew!"

Addy, a scientist, grabbed a lever.  
"Stop the levers!"  
The Doctor came up by Yvonne. "What's she doing?"  
Yvonne ignored him and kept yelling the com. "Addy, step away from the desk. Listen to me. Step away from the desk."

The Doctor realized what was happening. "She can't hear you. They're overriding the system. We're going into Ghost Shift." He looked at all the people not listening. "It's the ear piece. It's controlling them. I've seen this before." He looked at Adeola before administering his screwdriver. "Sorry. I'm so sorry."

Adeola, Gareth, and Matt fell to the ground screaming, and then they were silent.  
Yvonne looked at the Doctor. "What happened? What did you just do?"  
He looked down at them sadly and swallowed before answering. "They're dead."

Jackie gasped. Her daughter traveled with this man? "You killed them!"  
"Someone else did that long before I got here."  
"But you killed them!"  
The Doctor closed his eyes. "Jackie, I haven't got time for this."  
Yvonne stepped closer the Adeola. "What are those ear pieces?"  
"Don't."  
Yvonne looked at him questioningly. "But they're standard comms. devices. How does it control them?"  
"Trust me, leave them alone."  
"But what are they?"

Yvonne pulled Adeola's earpiece off, a piece of gray brain matter came with it. Jackie turned away immediately. Yvonne dropped it with a gasp and held her hand over her mouth. "It goes inside their brain!"  
The Doctor turned away from the ugly scene. "What about the Ghost Shift?"  
"Ninety percent there and still running. Can't you stop it?"  
The Doctor shook his head. "They're still controlling it. They've hi-jacked the system"  
"Who's they?", Yvonne questioned.  
"It might be a remote transmitter but it's got to be close by. I can trace it." He turned back to his companion's mother. "Jackie, stay here!"

* * *

"The Cybermen found a way through the Void, and we followed."  
"The Doctor said it was impossible!"  
"It wouldn't be the first time he was wrong."

Rose silently agreed, thinking of several times when that was the case. "What's inside that sphere?"

"No one knows. Cyber Leader, Cyber King, Emperor of the Cybermen. Whatever it is, he's dead meat."  
Rose smiled up at him and laid a hand on his shoulder. "It's good to see you."  
He smiled back. "Yeah. It's good to see you too."

Rajesh was trying his hardest to reach someone over his comm. "Can anyone hear me? Come on, I need help down here! I need-"  
The sphere started to crack and Mickey took off his coat and earpiece. "Here we go. I know what's in there, and I'm ready for them. I've got just the thing."

Rose found herself smiling at Mickey's newfound confidence and massive gun. He This is smiled at her. "This is going to blast them all the way to Hell."  
Rajesh was confused. "Samuel, what are you doing?"  
Mickey looked at him rather pointedly. "The name's Mickey. Mickey Smith. Defending the Earth."

* * *

The Doctor, Yvonne and Jackie watched in horror as the planet's ghosts turned into Cybermen. The Cybermen raided the streets, homes, and workplaces. They watched people being killed out the window and on the telly.

Yvonne gaped in horror. "They're invading the whole planet.", she whispered.  
The Doctor set his jaw. "It's not an invasion. It's too late for that. It's a victory. But I don't understand. The Cybermen don't have the technology to build a Void Ship. " He turned to the Cyberman near him. "That's way beyond you. How did you create that sphere?"  
"The sphere is not ours.", the robot answered.  
"What?"  
"The sphere broke down the barriers between worlds. We only followed. Its origin is unknown."  
"Then what's inside it?"

Jackie, white as a sheet, came up behind the Doctor. "Rose is down there."

* * *

The sphere disappeared in a flash of familiar golden light. Four giant monsters that Rose had never expected to see again appeared out of the Void. Mickey's gun was not going to hold them back. Rose shrank back against the wall. Raw fear enveloped her senses. Memories of the gamestation flooded her mind and her heart drummed in her chest at an alarming speed.

_Dreams of an unknown source took over her vison as she saw images of a raging battlefield as she was dragged along a path by a young man and a young woman. They had found a way to hide from them. They were heading to-_

Then she snapped back to reality with the Daleks battle cry.

"EXTERMINATE!"

* * *

**A/N:** Was Rose catching on about the non-human thing from her mother? What could be these memories? Who could be this young man and young woman? Is it really a dream? Tune in next time to _not_ find out! Muahahahaha. *cough* *ahem* Don't worry. You'll know eventually.


	13. Chapter 13: When I Said Forever

**A/N:** Woah. Cliffhanger, much? I mean, not _really_, since you've all seen Doomsday. Right? ANYWAYS. THIRD chapter for tonight. Ya'll are spoiled. ;p

* * *

Rose gathered up her courage, or what happened to be left of it. If she kept them talking maybe they could get out of alive.

"Daleks! You're called Daleks. I know your name. Think about it how can I know that? A human who knows about the Daleks and the Time War. If you want to know how, then keep us alive. That's all I'm asking. Me and my friends."  
Mickey hesitantly spoke up. "Yeah, Daleks. Time War. Me too."

"Yeah, and me.", Rajesh added.

The Black Dalek, who seemed to be the leader of the four, turned Rose. "You will be necessary." He turned back the to other three. "Report. What is the status of the Genesis Ark?"  
"Commence awakening. The Genesis Ark must be protected above all else."

Mickey whispered to Rose. "The Daleks. You said they were all dead."  
Rose looked at the metal case standing by the three Daleks. They were protecting it. It had to be important. "Never mind that. What a Genesis Ark?"

The Black Dalek came over to the three prisoners. "Which of you is least important?"  
Rose was disgusted. "What's that supposed to mean?"  
"Which of you is least important?"  
Rose shook her head. "No, we don't work like that. None of us."  
"Designate the least important!"

Rajesh stepped up to them. "This is my responsibility."  
Rose grabbed his arm. "No, you don't."  
He ignored her and kept talking to the Dalek leader. "I- I represent the Torchwood Institute. Anything you need, you come through me. Leave these two alone."  
"You will kneel.", the Dalek commanded.  
"What for?"  
"Kneel."

Rajesh cautiously kneeled with his back to the Dalek.  
"The Daleks need information about current Earth history."  
Rajesh snorted. "Yeah, well, I can give you a certain amount of intelligence but nothing that

will compromise Homeland security."  
"Speech is not necessary. We will extract brainwaves."

Three of the Daleks suck their plungers to his head while he screamed and his body became a gray corpse. Rose was horrified. How were they going to get out of here? Were they going to kill Mickey too? Would they get to the Doctor?

* * *

"Together, we could upgrade the Universe."  
"You propose an alliance?"

The Cyberman in Yvonne's office answered. "This is correct."

The Doctor held his breath. This truly was the most terrifying thing that could happen. The Daleks and Cybermen working together would be unstoppable. It would be war over universes. It would be worse than the Time War, if that was possible.

The Dalek in the hallway answered. "Request denied."  
The two Cybermen raised their arms and shot the Dalek. "Hostile elements will be deleted." The shots did nothing but annoy him. He exterminated them and the Cyberleader upstairs opened the visual link.

"Daleks, be warned. You have declared war upon the Cybermen."  
This is not war. This is pest control."

Rose swallowed thickly. If pest control was what they were after then why hadn't they killed her yet?

"We have five million Cybermen. How many are you?"  
"Four."  
"You would destroy the Cybermen with four Daleks?"  
"We would destroy the Cybermen with one Dalek. You are superior in only one respect."  
"What is that?"  
"You are better at dying. Raise communications barrier!"

The Doctor stepped behind the Cyberleader before the screen went blank. If they saw him, maybe they would spare the people in this building and come for him. He looked down at the phone and saw that Rose had hung up. Or least he hoped that she had and not that her phone had been fried by a Dalek.

* * *

The Doctor looked around at the parallel Torchwood. It was a mess. If it was anything like his universe's Torchwood, he was glad about it.

Jake waved a hand to the mess. "Parallel Earth, parallel Torchwood. Except we found out what the Institute was doing and the People's Republic took control."  
"I've got to get back. Rose is in danger, and her mother."

Pete walked in the room. "That'd be Jackie. My wife in a parallel universe. And as for you, Doctor, at least this time I know who you are."  
The Doctor r_eally_ needed to get back to Rose and Jackie. "Right, yes, fine, hooray." He let sarcasm drip through his voice. "But I've got to get back, _right now_."  
Pete shook his head. "No, you're not in charge here. This is _our_ world, not yours. And you're going to listen for once. When you left this world, you warned us there'd be more Cybermen. So we sealed them inside the factories."

Jake broke into the conservation. "Except people argued. Said they were living. We should help them."  
"And the debate went on. But all that time, the Cybermen made plans. Infiltrated this version of Torchwood, mapped themselves onto your world, and then vanished."  
The Doctor raised an eyebrow. This Torchwood definitely had been invaded a while ago. "When was this?"  
"Three years ago."  
"It's taken them three years to cross the void, but we can pop to and fro in a second. Must be the sheer mass of five million Cybermen crossing all at once."  
Pete rolled his eyes. "Yeah, Mickey said you'd rattle off that sort of stuff."

The Doctor perked up at the mention on Mickey's name. He was glad to know that he was alive, but also a bit jealous at the same time. "Oh, where is the Mickey boy?"  
"He went ahead first. Any chance to go and find Miss Rose Tyler."  
The Doctor turned serious and looked Pete in the eye. "She's your daughter. You do know that? Did Mickey explain?"  
Pete shook his head. "She's not mine. She's the child of a dead man." The Doctor stiffened up, glad that Rose wasn't here to hear this. Pete looked out the window. "Look at it, a world of peace. They're calling this The Golden Age."  
"Who's the President now?"  
"A woman called Harriet Jones."  
The Doctor scowled. "'d keep an eye on her."  
Pete sighed and nodded his head. "But it's a lie. Temperatures have risen by two degrees in the past six months. The ice caps are melting. They're saying all this is going to be flooded. That's not just global warming, is it?"  
"No."  
"It's the breach."

The Doctor looked exasperated. "I've been trying to tell you. Travel between parallel worlds is impossible. Then the Daleks break down the walls with a Sphere."  
Pete furrowed his brow. "Daleks?"  
"Then the Cybermen traveled across, then you lot. Those discs." He pointed to the medallion hanging around Jake's neck. "Every time you jump from one reality to another, you rip a hole in the universe. This planet is starting to boil. Keep going and both worlds will fall into the Void."  
"But you can stop it? The famous Doctor. You can seal the breach?"  
"Leaving five million Cybermen stranded on my Earth?", the Doctor deadpanned.  
"That's your problem. I'm protecting this world, and this world only."  
The Doctor looked him over. "Pete Tyler. I knew you when you were dead. Now here you are, fighting the fight alone. There is a chance, back on my world, Jackie Tyler might still be alive."  
Pete set his jaw and looked out the window. "My wife died."  
"Her husband died. Good match.", he said softly.  
Pete sighed and looked back at him. "There's more important things at stake. Doctor, help us."

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "What, close the breach? Stop the Cybermen? Defeat the Daleks? Do you believe I can do that?"  
"Yes."  
The Doctor thought for a moment. Maybe, just maybe, he could fix a little bit of the Time War by getting rid of the Cybermen and Daleks. "Maybe that's all I need. Off we go, then!"

* * *

The Dalek rolled back into the room after exterminating the two Cybermen. "Cyber threat irrelevant. Concentrate on the Genesis Ark."

Rose looked at the Genesis ark and noticed it's Dalek shape for the first time.  
"Why are we being kept alive?", Mickey questioned her.  
Rose inhaled a shudder. "They might need me."  
"I could transport out of here, but it only carries one and I'm not leaving you."  
Rose looked at the him disbelieving. "You'd follow me anywhere. What did I do to you all those years ago?"  
Mickey shrugged. "Guess I'm just stupid."  
Rose grabbed his arm "You're the bravest man I've ever met."  
Mickey scoffed. "What about the Doctor?"  
"Oh, all right. Bravest human."

Mickey looked at the four Daleks. "Well, I can't think what the Daleks need with me. I'm nothing to them.  
"You could be. The first time I saw a Dalek, it was broken. It was dying, but I touched it. The moment I did, I brought it back to life. The Doctor said when you travel in time in the TARDIS, you soak up all this background radiation. It's harmless. It's just there. But in the Time War, the Daleks evolved so they could use it as a power supply."  
Mickey grinned at her. "I love it when you talk technical."  
"Shut up. If the Daleks have got something inside that thing, and it needs waking up."  
"They need you."  
Rose shook her head. "You've traveled in time. Either one of us would do."  
"Why would they build something they can't open themselves?"

The leader of the Daleks spoke up. "The technology is stolen. The Ark is not of Dalek design."  
Rose raised an eyebrow. "Then who built it?"  
"The Time Lords. This is all that survives of their home world."  
Rose took in a sharp breath. The only thing left from Gallifrey and the Daleks had it. The irony. But what would be the only thing left? What would survive? "What's inside?"  
"The future."

Rose was about to ask about that, but the other Daleks disconnected from the Ark and turned towards them.

"Final stage of awakening."  
The Black Dalek looked at Rose. "Your handprint will open the Ark."  
"Well tough, because I'm not doing it."  
He pointed his plunger at Mickey. "Obey or the male will die."  
Rose looked at Mickey. "I can't let them."  
Mickey looked at her. "Rose, don't open it."  
The Dalek leader looked back to her. "Place your hand upon the casket."

Rose sighed. "All right! You're going to kill us anyway, so what've we got to lose? If you _escaped_ the Time War, don't you want to know what happened?"  
"Place your hand."  
Rose smiled at him. "What happened to the Emperor?"  
The Dalek stopped for a moment. "The Emperor survived?"  
Rose become deathly serious and looked the Dalek leader in the eyestalk. "Until he met me. If these are going to be my last words, then you're going to listen." She paused for dramatic effect. "I met the Emperor, and you know what I did? I took the Time Vortex and I _poured_ it into his head and turned him into dust." She paused and got a little bit closer. "Do you get that? The god of all Daleks, and I _destroyed_him." She laughed in his face, even while he screamed for her extermination.

The Doctor walked into the room wearing his three dimensional glasses. "Oh now, hold on, wait a minute." Rose breathed out slowly and the Dalek leader turned to the doorway.

"Alert, alert. You are the Doctor."  
"Sensors report he is unarmed."  
"That's me. Always."  
"Then you are powerless."  
The Doctor casually walked his way over to Rose and Mickey. "Not me. Never." He turned to Rose. "How are you?"  
Rose shrugged nonchalantly. "Oh, same old, you know."  
"Good. And Mickity McMickey. Nice to see you!"  
Mickey nervously smiled at the Doctor. "And you, boss."  
"Social interaction will cease!", the Black Dalek cried out. "How did you survive the Time War?"

The Doctor set his jaw, his causal stance gone. "By fighting. On the front line. I was there at the fall of Arcadia. Someday I might even come to terms with that. But you lot ran away!"  
"We had to survive."  
"The last four Daleks in existence. So what's so special about you?"  
Rose pulled on the Doctor's sleeve. "Doctor, they've got names." He looked at her with an raised eyebrow. "I mean- Daleks don't have names, do they?"

The Daleks spoke up. "I am Dalek Thay."  
"Dalek Sek"  
"Dalek Jast."  
"Dalek Caan."  
The Doctor was truly surprised. "So that's it! At last. The Cult of Skaro. I thought you were just a legend."  
"Who are they?", Rose asked.  
"A secret order above and beyond the Emperor himself. Their job was to imagine, think as the as the enemy thinks. Find new ways of killing."

Mickey broke in. "But that thing, they said it was yours. I mean, the Time Lord, they built it. What does it do?"  
"I don't know. Never seen it before."  
Rose looked up at him. "But it's Time Lord."  
"Both sides had secrets. What is it? What have you done?"

The Dalek Sek, the black Dalek, explained. "Time Lord science will restore Dalek supremacy."  
"What does that mean? What sort of Time Lord science? What do you mean?"  
"They said one touch from me will wake it up.", Rose said.  
"Technology using the one thing a Dalek can't do. Touch. Sealed inside your casing." He looked at them sadly. "Not feeling anything ever, from birth to death, locked inside a cold metal cage. Completely alone. That explains your voice. No wonder you scream."  
"Rose Tyler will open the Ark!"  
Rose stepped forward. "Rose Tyler _will not_."  
"You have no way of resisting."  
The Doctor brandished his sonic screwdriver. "Well, you got us there. Although there is always this."  
"A sonic probe?", Dalek Sek questioned.  
"That's a screwdriver, thank you very much."  
"It is harmless."  
"Oh, yes. Harmless is just the word. That's why I like it. Doesn't kill, doesn't wound, doesn't maim. But I'll tell you what it does do. It is very good at opening doors."

ake and a Cyberman burst through the laboratory doors.  
"Delete! Delete! Delete! Delete!", the Cyberman cried.  
"Alert. Casing impaired. Casing impaired."

The Doctor pushed Rose towards the door. "Rose, get out!"  
Rose was in shock of seeing Pete again, she stumbled and caught herself on the Ark, and released it prisoners.

* * *

Rose, the Doctor, Jackie, Pete, and Mickey watched in horror as the Daleks were set loose on the world. They were killing Cybermen, men, women, and children. Rose felt sick knowing that it was her fault. She hadn't meant to touch the Genesis Ark.

Pete turned away from the window. "I'm sorry, but you've had it. This world's going to crash and burn. There's nothing we can do. We're going home." He handed a medallion to Jackie. "Jacks, take this. You're coming with us."  
Jackie looked horrified. "But they're destroying the city."  
"I'd forgotten you could argue. It's not just London, it's the whole world. But there's another world just waiting for you, Jacks. And it's safe as long as the Doctor closes the breach. Doctor?"

The Doctor turned around, wearing his three dimensional glasses again. "Oh, I'm ready. I've got the equipment right here. Thank you, Torchwood." He started typing on a keyboard. "Slam it down and close off both universes."  
Rose was still looking out the window watching the nightmare unfold. "But we can't just leave. What about the Daleks? And the Cybermen?"  
"They're part of the problem, and that makes them part of the solution. Oh yes! Well? Isn't anyone going to ask what is it with the glasses?"  
Rose turned around and grinned at his mock hurt face. "What is it with the glasses?"  
"I can see, that's what. because we've got two separate worlds, but in between the two separate worlds, we've got the Void. That's where the Daleks were hiding. And the Cybermen traveled through the Void to get here. And you lot, one world to another, via the Void. Oh, I like that. Via the Void. Look."

He handed his glasses to Rose, who put them on as he moved back and forth in front of her.  
"I've been through it. Do you see?"  
"What is it?"  
"Void stuff."  
"Like background radiation?"  
"That's it. Look at the others. And the only one who hasn't been through the Void, your mother. First time she's looked normal all in her life." A protest came from Jackie's direction. "But the Daleks lived inside the Void. They're bristling with it. Cybermen, all of them. I just open the Void and reverse. The Void stuff gets sucked back inside."  
Rose smiled again. "Pulling them all in!"  
"Yep."

"Sorry, what's the Void?", Mickey asked.  
"The dead space. Some people call it Hell."  
"So you're sending the Daleks and Cybermen to Hell. Man, I told you he was good."  
Rose took off the glasses and put them in her pocket. She suddenly realized something and it made her very serious. "But it's like you said. We've all got Void stuff. Me too, because we went to that parallel world. We're all contaminated. We'll get pulled in."

The Doctor looked crestfallen. "That's why you've got to go." Rose gaped and tried to fathom the concept as he spun around, checking the computers again. "Back to Pete's world. Hey, we should call it that. Pete's World. I'm opening the Void, but only on this side. You'll be safe on that side."  
Pete looked at him. "And then you close it, for good?"  
"The breach itself is soaked in Void stuff. In the end it'll close itself. And that's it. Kaput."

"But you stay on this side?, Rose said softly.  
Mickey interrupted any continuation of her sentence. "But you'll get pulled in!"  
The Doctor held up the Magnaclamps. "That's why I got these.I'll just have to hold on tight. I've been doing it all my life."  
"I'm supposed to go.", Rose's voice trembled as she spoke.  
"Yeah."  
"To another world, and then it gets sealed off."  
"Yeah."  
"I said forever, so that's not going to happen."

The Doctor was about the argue with her, but the building shook, providing a nice distraction."  
Pete looked up at the Doctor. "We haven't got time to argue. The plan works. We're going." He turned to Rose. "You too. All of us."  
Rose shook her head. "No, I'm not leaving here!"  
"I'm not going without her.", Jackie pointed out.  
"We're going!"  
Jackie turned Pete, turning on the Tyler charm. "I've had twenty years without you, so button it. I'm not leaving her."

Rose shook her head sadly. "Mum, you've got to."  
"Well, that's tough."  
"Mum, I've had a life with you for nineteen years, but then I met the Doctor, and all the things I've seen him do for me, for you, for all of us. For the whole stupid planet and every planet out there. He does it alone, mum. But not anymore, because now he's got me."

Her speech felt like a stab in both of the Doctor's hearts as he quietly crept up behind her and placed the medallion around her neck. It was the hardest thing he had done in his life. It was worse than ending the Time War, because he loved her. Truly loved her and never told her. Rose turned around, her expression hurt and confused. It was the last thing he saw before she vanished and he was sure her face would haunt him forever. Maybe he would let himself be pulled into the Void. It was better than living with a thousand nightmares of her hurt, beautiful face.

* * *

Rose never had a heart attack in her life. Sure, she felt as though she might have one at times, but this felt like the real thing. Maybe her heart was just suffocating from the clench in her chest. The last thing she saw before a white wall was the Doctor's face. Nine hundred years of pain and hurt etched across it. His eyes burning with a sorrow and sadness so deep that you could drown in them. She knew it hurt him, but she couldn't believe he had done it. Sent her away. Again. And this time, for good. It wasn't fair, him sending her away like that. Couldn't he accept it? She had said forever and meant it. It wasn't some girl in love. No, it was real. She would go back and help him. Even if it meant she went to Hell with the Cybermen and Daleks.

She turned to her mother and Pete and pressed the button on her medallion as Pete lunged to take it away.

"He's not doing this again.", Rose said, "He's not going be alone."

* * *

**A/N:** *scratches back of neck* Sorry, it's a bit- UGH- scriptish. Again. But I had to change a few things, you know? Reviews make me happy. Happy me is a writing me.


	14. Chapter 14: Personal Doomsday

**A/N:** THIRTY-FOUR REVIEWS! *passes out Kleenex* You're going to need those. You guests need to login so I can mail you. I leave you on a cliffhanger WITH NO SHAME. Bwahaha... Now for Doomsday feels. Please listen to sad music while reading this. You'll cry like I did when I wrote it.

* * *

"He's not going to be alone again.", Rose's voice rang through the almost empty room as she materialized.

The Doctor looked gaped up at her. Ten minutes ago he had made her go to the parallel world. He should be mad at her for leaving it, but he wasn't, but he had to be anyway. The Doctor backed her up against a desk and turned on the Oncoming Storm.

"Once the breach collapses, that's it! You will never be able to see her again- your own mother!", he yelled.  
Rose spoke softly, but firmly. She wasn't intimidated by his anger, knowing that she wasn't the reason he was mad, it was the situation.

"I made my choice a long time ago and I'm never going to leave you. I said forever and I meant it." He breath hitched the tiniest bit and there was an awkward pause before she continued. "So what can I do to help?"

The Doctor regained his bearings and pointed to a computer. "Those coordinates over there, set them all at six and hurry up."

Rose picked up her medallion, threw it across the room, and started typing on the computer.

"We've got Cybermen on the way up."  
The Doctor looked over at her worriedly. "How many floors down?"  
"Just one."

He started typing furiously on another computer and smiled when he got the levers working.  
Rose grinned at him. "That's more like it. Bit of a smile. The old team."  
"Hope and Glory, Mutt and Jeff, Shiver and Shake."  
"Which one's Shiver?", she asked with her tongue poking through her teeth.  
"Oh, I'm Shake."

* * *

The Doctor handed her one of the magnaclamps and they secured them against the wall. The Doctor swallowed his foreboding to explain how to use them.  
"Now when it starts, just hold on tight. Shouldn't be too bad for us but the Daleks and the Cybermen are steeped in Void stuff. Are you ready?"  
Rose looked out the window and back to him. "So are they."  
"Let's do it."

They pulled the levers and then ran to hold on the magnaclamps. The wall opposite of them opened up to the Void and started sucking the Cyberman and Daleks in while pulling on them. The Doctor couldn't help but feel happy to see them being pulled in their final detestation, the Void, an endless white Hell. He'd never see them again. He and Rose would go on and fight other battles instead.

The there was a Dalek. Just one that was no different from all the rest, but it would make the most heart difference for the rest of his life. It had to fly on Rose's side and hit the lever. She looked over at him when the suction of the Void started to decrease. The Doctor knew what she was going to do. He wanted to stop her, but he didn't have the voice or power to. Rose reached for the lever to pull it back, but she wasn't strong enough.

She knew this would be it. She knew it was the lever started to fall back, but she wouldn't accept it. The least Rose could do for the Doctor after all he'd done for her is end his suffering, his pain. Surely she could reach the lever and pull the Daleks, the destroyers of his home, into the Void.

"I've got to get it upright!" was the last thing she said before letting go of the mangaclamp. She managed to get a hold of the lever and managed to pull it back. She let a sigh of relief as the computer told them it was online and locked. However, when the suction started building up, she pulled backwards. Rose held on to the lever, knowing it was her key to her life, her world. She could feel her fingers slipping slowly as the Doctor yelled at her to hold on.

The Doctor hearts stopped as she let go of the mangaclamp. She wouldn't be able to do it, he thought. But of course his pink-and-yellow human (as he fondly called her in his ninth form) always surprised him. She pulled the lever back so it was online and locked. She looked over him her face the picture of raw fear and she being pulled horizontally towards the Void. He yelled at her to hold on, as if it would help, but her fingers were slipping. Slowly, but surely. One by one until he thought his hearts would stop for good. He didn't even knew he was screaming or that his sense of time was gone as she flew backwards.

* * *

Time crawled on it's knees and she knew she would die the moment her fingers slipped. Rose Tyler, the Valiant Child, would die in battle defending the Earth. Never to be seen again. The Bad Wolf, supposed goddess of time itself, vanished. Left in the pit of the hellish Void for all eternity, slowly going mad. The face of Doctor would kill her on the way first. Not once did she see pain like that. It was raw terror, fear, and loneliness all rolled up in one uncensored image that would scar her for life. Perhaps the Doctor did love her some, if he was this afraid of losing her. Not that that it mattered now, she bitterly thought. She wanted to say something to him, but her mouth wouldn't work.

And then it all stopped-

-and for one joyful moment in time the world was happy. The Void had closed and the roaring in her ears was the only thing left of the whole ordeal. But by looking up at Pete, the man who wasn't her dad, her world collapsed. She knew why he was here, to collect her. Take her away from the Doctor. Possibly save her life, yes, but at what cost? The inside of her would be dead.

She looked back at the Doctor who gaped at Pete. The look of terror still on his face, his voice raw from screaming her name, and one lone tear on his face. The only tear she'd ever seen him cry.

He looked at her and his mind ceased to work. She would be saved from the Void, yet still gone. Back to where he sent her in the first place. The last thing he saw was her look at him with a face that could only be described as a lover's last look as their cherished one dies. And that was his breaking point.

* * *

Yes, the inside of her was already dead, she thought as he vanished and a dark wall replaced it. She ran to the wall and hit repeatably, yelling for someone to take her back. Tears flowed freely and without shame. She heard Pete say that the Doctor closed the breach. Rose stopped for one moment and laid her sobbing form against the wall. She closed her eyes and tried all the telepathic power she could muster into feeling him. She put her empty hand up against the wall and it felt as though he was there, returning the same gesture.

The Doctor walked to the wall having wiped off his lone tear. He wouldn't cry, not yet. He leaned against the wall. It was as though he could break it down and she was be on the other side, waiting for him with that Rose Tyler grin and an outstretched hand that would fit perfectly in his. Maybe it could still be there. If he was fast enough and tried hard enough. He ran to his TARDIS, ignoring everyone that he passed. Maybe, just this once, he could get somebody he loved back.

A grandfather and his ginger granddaughter had stepped in the room and they saw a man with sticky-up hair leaning against the wall, mourning something. Robots had flown through the air and into the window of this room and was naturally curious. He stepped out of the way as the man went running to a blue box and stepped inside. They gaped at it while it disappeared.

* * *

As the feeling went away, Rose slid down the wall to her knees. Her hands clenched into fists as a shudder ripped through her body as her chest seemed to cave in on itself. Tears soaked her face and her mascara ran past her eyes. Never in her life had she felt such pain and loneliness, it felt familiar, although it shouldn't. He was the man she loved, for real. It wasn't like the contract she had with Jimmy or the obligation she had felt with Mickey. It was real love and she never got to tell him because she would only accept it now. But she would never see him again. They had closed the Void forever and there was a part of Rose that went with it that Pete couldn't catch.

She curled up on the floor, choking on her sobs, while her heart feeling as though a thousand Daleks were exterminating it. Rose felt someone lift her head into her lap and brush her hair to the side. The person rubbed her back and whispered comforting words. She stayed like that for hours until she was only hiccuping. She turned her head from the person's soaked knees to look at their face. It was her mum. She scrambled to her knees to hug her and hold her close. She felt her mum's tears as she rocked her back forth.

"I- I won't ever see him again, mum.", Rose choked.  
"I know. I'm so sorry."  
"I- I- didn't even get to tell him."  
"He knew, love."

"How long- How long has it been."  
"Six hours."

Rose started crying again. "He always said to wait five and half hours."

* * *

The Doctor got back to the TARDIS and searched to the room with all his physic textbooks. If he hurried, he might be able to find an opening and pull the TARDIS through and get Rose back. It was selfish, he knew. He shouldn't be risking the walls of the universe, but he had to try because he realised something as his Rose was harshly pulled away from him. He loved her, and when he saw her again, he'd tell her. He was already breaking so many rules by even traveling with her and finding a way to the other universe. One more wasn't going to stop him.

* * *

A month later, a unbelievably thin Rose woke up in bed in Pete's mansion. She refused to call it home. Her home was in the other universe, a small blue and somewhat magical box. She had decided something last night. It was her last night mourning. In her grief last night, she had resorted to something she hadn't for years. Rose had cut herself. It really had surprised her after she'd done it and she knew she needed help. It had taken her over a year to stop cutting last time she started.  
Rose pulled her reluctant body out of bed. Her stomach growled. She sighed and looked around the empty room. There was the bed she was on, a dresser with mirror, and a desk with her cold TARDIS key laying on it. There were no decorations, no colour, no pictures. She silently cried when she thought of her TARDIS room with it's starry ceiling and hundreds of pictures from her and the Doctor's adventures.  
She pulled on a pair of socks and pulled her hair into a ponytail. She looked at herself in the bathroom. Her face was pale and gaunt, free of makeup. Her hoodie and sweats barely hung on her all to thin frame. Sighing, she walked out of the bathroom and grabbed her TARDIS key and pulled it over her neck. She padded out of the room and down the hallway to the stairs. Using the cuff of her hoodie, she wiped the tears off her face before entering the kitchen.

"Mum?"

Jackie nearly choked as she saw Rose in the doorway. She hadn't come out of her room for a month.

"Rose? Are you hungry?"  
Rose nodded and sat at the table. Her mum got her a bowl of cereal that she started downing instantly. She stopped when her mom saw the cut on her wrist. They met eye to eye and Rose looked down at the table.

"Rose-"  
"Mum, I need help.", she choked. Jackie held her while she cried again.

* * *

The Doctor let out a loud 'ha' as he finished the equation he needed. He sobered up when he realised it had been two hours. He wouldn't be able to get the TARDIS. He groaned and rubbed his face with his hands.  
Separation from Rose was inevitable, but at least they'd get a proper goodbye. He ran to the console to search for a star big enough and far enough away from any inhabited planets then he'd need to rewire some of the console to use the star's power.

* * *

Rose walked out of the Torchwood's counselor's office. She felt better than she had for the last two months. She still cried when she thought about the Doctor, but at least it wasn't as heart wrenching. Well, unless you counted at night. Or when she reached for a hand that wasn't there. Or turned around to accidentally pull a stranger into a hug.  
_Scratch that_, she thought. It still hurt horribly to think about the Doctor, but at least now she had someone to talk to that would set her straight and not just comfort her. Her counselor, Analise, encouraged her to find a job at Torchwood, so she decided to start going through certifications and training. Pete was director now, so it was different. The Doctor would be proud.  
Rose got in her car and went to met her mom for lunch. She checked her makeup for smears in the mirrors and turned on the car. She smiled thinking about her mum having a baby. Jackie and Pete wanted children, but weren't able to have any together. They had done a procedure last week and were supposed to get the result back today. Rose wondered if she wanted a little sister or a little brother as she pulled out of the parking lot.

* * *

The Doctor jumped around the console, pressing buttons and trying to harness the star's power. It would burn and might damage the TARDIS in the process, but it was worth one last goodbye. Finally getting it, he called out into mind for Rose.

* * *

"Rose. Rose."

Rose woke up from her all to real dream. Or maybe it wasn't a dream. She had dreamt every night about the adventure her and the Doctor had, but this one was real. She could actually her his voice calling to her. Even now she could hear it. Rose sat up with widen eyes when she realised what it was. He was trying to reach her telepathically. She ran to Pete and Jackie's room to tell them.

A week later found them on a Norway beach named Bad Wolf Bay, much to Rose's bitter amusement. She looked around the cold beach and kept walking until she heard the voice stop. Rose turned to the ocean to watch and wait until she heard a voice beside her. She whipped around the see the Doctor. She wanted to laugh or cry. Maybe throw her arms around him and declare her love.

"Where are you?", she managed to choke out with a smile.

The Doctor swallowed at seeing her so thin and gaunt, and her eyes hollow. "Inside the TARDIS. There's one tiny little gap in the universe left. It's about to close and it takes a lot of power to send this projection. I'm in orbit around a super nova." He looked at her and chuckled. "I'm burning up a sun just to say goodbye."

Rose knew what it meant for him to destroy a part of the universe just to say goodbye to her. She wiped a tear from her eye. "You look like a ghost."  
The Doctor frowned and pointed his sonic screwdriver at something. "Hold on"  
Rose reached out for his face, aching for his touch. "Can I-"  
He shook his head sadly. "I'm still just an image. No touch."  
Rose bit her lip in effort to keep the tears at bay. "Can't you come through properly?"  
"The whole thing would fracture. Two universes would collapse.", he choked  
"So?", she said softly. He looked her in the eye and they both knew that they couldn't do that.

The Doctor took a breath and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "So where are we?"  
"We're in Norway."  
"Norway. Right.", he said slightly sarcastic  
"It's about fifty miles out of Burgen. It's called 'Dårlig Ulv Stranden'."  
He looked appalled. "Dalek?"  
"Dårlig.", she corrected him. "It's Norwegian for bad. This translates as Bad Wolf Bay." They both smiled at each other.

Rose took a deep breath. "How long have we got?"  
"About two minutes."  
Rose shook her head. All the things they had done together, all the people they'd met and saved, all the time spent and she didn't know what to do the last two minutes with him. "I can't think of what to say!"

The Doctor nodded to the jeep. "You've still got Mister Mickey, then?"  
Rose smiled. "There's five of us now. Mum, Dad, Mickey and the baby."  
The Doctor was shocked, remembering the planet they had went to before being seperated. "You're not-"

Rose shook her head sadly. She thought maybe she was pregnant a month after she had come here, only to find out she couldn't have children. She suspected it had something to do with the Xhinn's experimentation. "No. It's mum. She's three months gone. More Tylers on the way."  
The Doctor smiled. "And what about you?"  
Rose shrugged her shoulders. "Yeah, I'm back working in the shop.", she lied.  
"Oh, good for you.", he said nonchalantly, knowing that she had hated the shop.  
Rose smirked at him. "Shut up. No, I'm not. There's still a Torchwood on this planet. It's open for business. I think I know a thing or two about aliens."  
The Doctor gave her a real grin. "Rose Tyler, Defender of the Earth. Can't disagree with that."

Rose smiled and there was a bit of silence. They both knew their time was almost up and they'd never see each other again.

"You're dead, officially, back home. So many people died that day and you've gone missing. You're on a list of the dead. Yet, here you are, living a life day after day. The one adventure I can never have."

_'Without you. The one adventure I didn't want._', thought Rose tearfully.

"Am I ever going to see you again?", she cried, her tears smearing her mascara.  
The Doctor swallowed a lump in his throat and shook his hand. "You can't."  
"What're you going to do?", she choked.  
"Oh-" The Doctor looked off in the distance, trying not to let his tears fall. "I've got the TARDIS Same old life, last of the Time Lords."  
"On your own."

He didn't have answer for that and she knew it time. She never see him again. Ever. Rose Tyler, now Defender of the Earth, was stuck without the man she loved and she hadn't told him yet. There was a time when she was embarrassed to let him see her cry, but know she let the tears run unashamedly down her face.

"I-", she choked and wiped her face as her heart clenched. "I love you."

The Doctor let a tear fall and he didn't care. "Quite right, too.", he whispered. "And I suppose- If it's my one last chance to say it- Rose Tyler, I-"

His image faded and Rose trembled and fell to her knees, sobbing. His "_I love you_", that was rarely spoken between his people, bounced through the empty TARDIS walls in his ears, but he could still see her. She stood up with tears streaming down her face and he tried to use the sonic screwdriver so she could she him again. He had to tell her.  
But she couldn't see him. Rose Tyler, his brave pink-and-yellow human separated from her home, stood and wiped her eyes. He saw as her eyes flashed gold and she turned her anger to the universe.

"I WILL FIND HIM.", she yelled. He sobbed and smiled, thinking that she could give his Oncoming Storm a run for it's money. "I WILL TEAR A BLOODY HOLE IN THESE UNIVERSES, STEP THROUGH IT, AND PUT THEM BACK TOGETHER IF I HAVE TO."  
Hot , angry tears splashed down her face as she stamped her foot and tried to breathe. All he wanted to is hold her in his arms and comfort her. The last thing he saw was her crumpled, crying form, clutching her TARDIS key.

* * *

She yelled her promise to the universe and meant to keep it. Then she fell to her knees, emotionally and physically spent. She held the key around her neck like a lifeline and cried for the Doctor, the stars, and all the unfairness in the universe.

* * *

**A/N: **And that's part one folks! Stay tuned for an author note regrading part two.


	15. Chapter 15: Angsty Wanderlust

**A/N:** Thirty-nine reviews, fourty-eight followers, and thirteen favorites! Thank you! Sorry it took me so long to get this chapter up. was being weird last night and this morning.

* * *

The Doctor woke up in a pink bed again. It had been a year since Rose was taken from him and frankly, he wasn't taking to it well. At least a few months after the Time War, he had met her and had gotten better. Now he traveled by himself and stayed away from the general population of this universe.  
He padded out of her room and locked the door behind him and went to the console room. He checked the screen. The Doctor was orbiting Earth, waiting for something suspicious or alien to happen. A button flashed red and he pressed it. He slipped on his glasses as the TARDIS started playing a commercial for Adipose Industries. It seemed fishy and he set coordinates for their head quarters.

* * *

A redhead walked into her mother's home started fixing tea. The presentation at Adipose Industries had done nothing. She'd have to sneak in somehow.

"And what time's this?"  
"How old am I?", a twenty-seven year old Donna rolled her eyes.  
"Not old enough to use a phone."

Donna slid into a chair at the kitchen table while her mother walked in.  
"I thought you were only moving back for a couple of weeks. Look at you. I mean, you're never gonna find a flat if you keep going around inspecting conspiracy theories like Nancy Drew. You've got to do something with your life.. It's not like the 1980s. No one's unemployed these days except you. How long did that job with Health and Safety last? Two weeks, and then you decide it's boring and quit. No one's going to come along with a magic wand and make your life all better."

Donna bit her cheek. Didn't her mother understand? She wasn't one of those people who settles down with a nice house and a decent paying job. She wanted adventure. To do things in the world. Make a difference.

"Where is Granddad?", she asked rubbing her forehead.  
Sylvia rolled her eyes. "Where do you think he is! Up the hill. He's always up the hill."

Donna grabbed her coat and walked up to her grandfather's usual spot for stargazing.  
"Aye, aye. Here comes trouble."  
Donna grinned. "Permission to board ship, sir?"  
"Permission granted. Was she nagging you?", a hint of amusement twinkled behind the older man's eyes.  
"Big time. Brought you a thermos.", she handed him the mug.  
"Oh, ta." He took a long drink out of the warm thermos.

"You seen anything?", Donna asked while staring at the night sky that was freckled with stars.  
"Yeah, I've got Venus, there with an apparent magnitude of minus three point five. At least, that's what it says in my little book. Here, come and see."

Donne looked through the telescope at the star that was brighter than any other in the sky. She wished she could travel to it somehow.

"That's the only planet in the Solar System named after a woman."  
"Good for her." Donna nodded. "How far away is that?"  
"Oh, its about twenty six million miles. But we'll get there, one day. In a hundred years time we'll be striding out amongst the stars. Jiggling about with all them aliens. Just you wait."

"You really believe in all that stuff, don't you?", she questioned quietly, already knowing the answer.  
"Don't you? You're all over the place these days."  
Donna frowned. "I know. It's just- The things I've seen- sometimes I think I'm going mad. I mean, even tonight I was- " She shook her head. "It doesn't matter."  
Wilf smiled sadly at her. "You're not yourself. You seem to be drifting, sweetheart."  
"I'm not drifting. I'm waiting."  
"What for?"  
"The right man."  
Wilf shook his head and chuckled. "Same old story. A man!"  
"No, I don't mean like that. A friend. Someone real. Exciting. Someone who believes the same things we do. Even willing to go search for them."  
"There you are. Go and find him."  
"I've tried. He doesn't exist.", she sighed sadly.  
"Oi." Wilf nudged her shoulder. "It's not like you to give up. Do you know, I remember when you were about six years old, your mother said no holiday this year. So off you toddled, all on your own and got on a bus to Strathclyde. We had the police after you and everything. Where's she gone, then. Where's that girl?"  
"You're right. Because he's out there, somewhere. And I'll find him, Gramps. Even if I have to wait a hundred years, I'll find him."

* * *

Little did Donna know, but she would find someone just like that when she in to Adipose Industries. Someone who'd show her the universe and take her traveling through the stars. She ran into him after they were caught sneaking around.

"So I that's what I do. You name it, I find it. UFO sightings, crop circles, sea monsters. I looked, I found them all. Like that stuff about the bees disappearing. All those amazing things out there, I believe them all. Well, apart from that replica of the Titanic flying over Buckingham Palace on Christmas Day. I mean, that's _got_ to be a hoax."

The Doctor was slightly amazed. A human who actually believed these things and looked for them. You could usually count on gullible people to believe it, but for someone to _really _believe and go looking for them? Companion material right here, if he was looking for one.  
"What do you mean, the bees are disappearing?"  
Donna shrugged. "That's what it says on the internet and on the same site, there was all these conspiracy theories about Adipose Industries and I thought, I'll take a look."

They ran into the lift and the Doctor soniced the controls.  
"Oi, what that's then?", Donna asked suspiciously.  
The Doctor rolled his eyes. "I don't have time for this. In you get."  
"In that thing?", she yelled incredulously.  
"Yes, in that thing!"  
"But if we go down in that, they'll just call us back up again!"  
The Doctor pushed her in. "No, because I've locked the controls with a sonic cage. I'm the only one that can control it. Not unless she's got a sonic device of her own, which is highly unlikely."

"Sonic device?"

* * *

In another universe, five years into the future, one unhappy Rose Tyler hit the snooze button on a alarm clock that read five in the morning. She climbed out of bed and looked around the still-to-empty room, feeling for the key around her neck. Sighing, she pushed her way to the kitchen for breakfast.

Hours later she sat at her desk Torchwood desk eating a packed lunch over paperwork. She had learned to read most of the printouts with help from her co-workers, but some parts were still Greek to her.

"Commander Tyler?" Rose looked up to see a Oriental girl walk in her office.  
"Yes, Tosh?"  
The girl looked slightly nervous. "I need to talk to you if you don't mind."  
Rose blinked. Had something happened to her mum? Maybe it was Pete or Tony.  
"Um, sure. Come on in."  
Toshiko shuffled in with some papers and sat down in a chair across the desk from Rose.  
"It's about the dimension cannon. We're doing everything we can, but the walls are still weak. If we tried to do anything, I don't know what would happen. We- We can't risk it." Rose looked took a deep breath and looked down at the papers on her desk that were slowly getting blurry. "I'm sorry. I know how much this project means to you."

Rose bit her lip. "It's okay, yeah? We can put it on hold for a while."  
Tosh looked at her. "We estimated a ten years before the walls will be strong enough." Rose held back a sob. "But it may not take that long. We just need to wait and see."

Rose just nodded and Toshiko left the room not knowing why the leader of her team would cry over a side project like this. Rose locked the door behind her and sobbed on the desk. She'd be an old woman before she ever saw the Doctor again, she thought.

* * *

Donna stepped out the the amazing, almost magical box and ran around the outside of it. She looked up to see her car right next to them, boxes filling the back seat. "That's my car!"

_'This is like destiny! I've been ready for this!'_, she thought excitedly.

"So, this is where we stop?", the Doctor asked awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck.  
"Do you want to? Would you rather be on your own?"  
The Doctor looked at her, shocked. She was serious." Uh, no. Actually, no. But the last time it- It got complicated." He stuffed his hands in his pockets. "I just want a mate."  
Donna looked appalled. "_You just want to mate?_"  
"I just want _a_ mate!"  
"Oi! You're not mating with _me_, sunshine!", her fiery attitude coming out.  
"_A_ mate. I want _a_ mate."  
Donna looked relieved. "Well, just as well, because I'm not having any of that nonsense."

There was a moment of awkward silence before Donna spoke again. "So I can come?"  
The Doctor nodded. "Yeah. Course you can, yeah. I'd love it."  
"Oh, that's just-" She went to hug him and remembered her mother. " Oh, car keys."  
"What?"  
She pulled out a suitcase and a couple boxes from the back of the car, which surprised the Doctor, and ran off down the street. "I've still got my mum's car keys. I won't be a minute."

Donna was talking on the phone to her mother, telling her to check the bin for the keys and asked a blonde to tell her mother which one it was. The blonde disappeared in front of her eyes and she went back to the Doctor shocked, but didn't say a word about it.

"You've got a- a hatbox."  
Donna grinned. "Planet of the Hats, then? I don't need injections, do I? You know, like when you go to Cambodia. Is there any of that? Because my friend Veena went to Bahrain, and she- Well, anyway, I'm always packed, just in case. Because hot weather, cold weather, no weather- See I go anywhere. I've gotta be prepared. Off we go, then!"  
The Doctor smiled at his blue box. "Here it is. The TARDIS, bigger on the inside. Good thing, too."  
Donna rolled her eyes. "Oh, I know that bit. Although frankly, you could turn the heating up."  
The Doctor ignored her and bounced around the console, a grin lighting up his face for the first time in a year. "So, whole wide universe, where do you want to go?"  
"Oh, I know exactly the place."  
The Doctor raised an eyebrow. Everyone always let him choose the first trip. "Which is?"  
Donna smirked. "Two and a half miles that way."

* * *

Rose rolled over, hit the snooze button on her alarm clock, and rolled on onto the bed. Today was Saturday, the beginning of her weekend, which meant no work. She hated Saturday these days. There was no work to keep her busy. She was free all day, but had nothing to do.  
She sighed thinking about a few days before when Toshiko brought in the report on the dimension cannon. She'd have to wait before trying to get back home again. What would she do? She would keep working for Torchwood, of course, but what else. Maybe she'd continue her education. The press, and eventually the world, learning about her not passing A-levels would be embarrassing for sure, but that wouldn't' matter once she got out of this universe. After that, she'd find a university, or maybe several, to go to. It depended on how long she had to wait.

Rose finally dragged her tired body out of bed and into the shower. Today would be the beginning of a new Rose Tyler, even if it killed her.

* * *

After flying over the hill to see Wilf, who was surprised, yet happy for the adventure his granddaughter had found, they went to visit the first Olympic games, or what was supposed to be the Olympic games. The Doctor was excited for the prospect of showing someone the universe again, but his hearts still ached for Rose terribly. He was thankful that Donna was only interested in a friendship, and not anything more. He definitely not ready for it, not that he'd ever be.

He stepped out of the TARDIS and swept his hand across the town. How they ended up unnoticed in the middle of a busy marketplace, in the middle of the day was surprising, but not necessarily unexpected. Humans generally didn't pay much attention to their surroundings when occupied with something else.

"Ancient Rome. Well, not for them, obviously. To all intents and purposes right now, this is brand new Rome."  
Donna's jaw dropped in shock. He actually had taken to Rome. Ancient. Like the actual historical city she had learned about in school. "It's- It's so Roman. This is fantastic!" The Doctor grinned at the wonder on her face. "I'm here, in Rome. Donna Noble in Rome. This is just weird. I mean, everyone here's dead."  
The Doctor raised on eyebrow. "Well, don't tell them that."  
Donna noticed a sign she could actually read and stared getting suspicious. "Hold on a minute. That sign over there's in English. Are you having me on? Are we in Epcot?" She narrowed her eyes at him  
The Doctor shook his head while locking the TARDIS behind them. No, no, no, no. That's the TARDIS. translation circuits. Just makes it look like English. Speech as well. You're talking Latin right now."  
"Seriously?" The Doctor nodded and she went on laughing. "I just said seriously in Latin?"  
The Doctor grinned his manic grin at her. "Yep."  
"So what if I said something in actual Latin, like veni, vidi, vici? My dad said that when he came back from football. If I said veni, vidi, vici to that lot, what would it sound like?"  
The Doctor pursed his lips thinking. Only she would look for a question that would stump him. "I'm not sure. You have to think of difficult questions, don't you?"  
Donna smirked at him. "I'm going to try it."

Donna found an older man selling fruit, and the Doctor trailed behind her, scratching his neck, trying to look like he wasn't with her.  
"Afternoon, sweetheart.", the man asked, "What can I get you, love?"  
"Er, veni, vidi, vici."  
The stallholder was surprised and shocked. "Huh? Sorry? Me no speak Celtic. No can do, missy."  
"Yeah." Donna awkwardly shifted back to the Doctor.

"What does he mean by Celtic?"  
The Doctor smirked at her failed attempt. "Welsh. You sound Welsh. There we are. Learnt something."  
Donna nodded and looked down at her jeans. "Don't our clothes look a bit odd?", she asked with an raised eyebrow.  
The Doctor shook his head nonchalantly. "Nah. Ancient Rome, anything goes. It's like Soho, but bigger."  
"You've been here before then?"  
The Doctor thought back to when he and Rose had come here. Rose had been frozen by a sculptor and he had run all over the city trying to find a missing boy and her. In the end, it all had worked out well and he even got the sculpt his own statue of Rose. "Ages ago. Before you ask, that fire had nothing to do with me. Well, a little bit. But I haven't got the chance to look around properly. Coliseum, Pantheon, Circus Maximus. You'd expect them to be looming by now. Where is everything? Try this way."

They came around a corner and there was a mound sitting, in front of them smoking. Donna raised an eyebrow. "Not an expert, but there's seven hills of Rome, aren't there? How come they've only got one?"  
The Doctor looked around as people stationed themselves to hang onto things. Then he realized where and when they were, as did Donna.

"Wait a minute. One mountain with smoke. Which makes this-"  
The Doctor confirmed her guess. "Pompeii. We're in Pompeii, and it's volcano day."

* * *

"Is that your opinion as a doctor?"

The Doctor was suspicious when Evelina called him that. Was she alien? Or maybe she he had just mistaken him for a doctor because of his concern.  
"I beg your pardon?"  
Evelina raised an eyebrow. "Doctor. That's your name."  
"How did you know that?", he asked firmly.  
The girl ignored him and turned to his companion. "And you. You call yourself Noble."  
Metella laughed nervously. "Now then, Evelina. Don't be rude."  
"No, no, no, no. Let her talk." The Doctor wanted to see what else she would say, something that might give her away as an alien, or maybe she really was physic.  
"You both come from so far away.", Evelina said in amazement.

Lucius stepped forward and spoke to the Doctor. "The female soothsayer is inclined to invent all sorts of vagaries."  
The Doctor chuckled darkly and shook his head. "Oh, not this time, Lucius. No, I reckon you've been out soothsayed."  
The man with gray hair spoke again. "Is that so, man from Gallifrey?"  
"What?"  
Lucius furrowed his eyebrows. "The strangest of images. Your home is lost in fire, is it not?"

The Doctor stood still, not answering him and his jaw set. Donna came up to stand up next to him. "Doctor, what are they doing?", she whispered.  
"And you, daughter of London."  
"How does he know that?", Donna  
"This is the gift of Pompeii. Every single oracle tells the truth."  
"That's impossible."  
Lucius ignored her and turned back to the Doctor. "Doctor, she is returning."  
The Doctor looked confused. "Who is? Who's she?"  
"And you, daughter of London, there is something on your back."  
Donna looked confused. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Evelina stepped forward and spoke again. "It is the Daughter of Time, Doctor. She will return as it is told in legends. You know her by chosen name, Bad Wolf." The Doctor took a step back as she looked him over again. "Even the word Doctor is false. Your real name is hidden. It burns in the stars, in the Cascade of Medusa herself. You are a lord, sir. A Lord of Time.

* * *

**A/N:** So the Doctor meets a wanderlust Donna in a different way. :) If you remember right, she and Wilf saw the Doctor in chapter fourteen. ;) Hopefully the next installment will be up soon, since I am done with school early today! :D


	16. Chapter 16: Her Name Was Rose

_**A/N:** _8/8/13: Sorry about this chapter. Somehow it got replaced with an older one and I lost my copy, so I had to rewrite it and it wasn't as long. My chapters like to run away from home sometimes. *shakes head* I'm going to have to get better locks on my doors.

* * *

The Doctor liked Donna. Not like _that _though. Donna was the textbook description of what the Doctor needed right now; someone funny and interesting to keep him focused and in line. She asked him the hard questions and wouldn't let him get away with anything. The only thing that he didn't like was that she was ginger. It was unfair, and quite frankly, rubbing a salt in the wound. That and the hat obsession.

* * *

_The words of the young woman had given a smidgen of hope. Bad Wolf was returning. It was a name she had chosen for herself when she'd looked into the heart of the TARDIS. How though and when? It had kept him up that evening (yes, he slept a few hours each night) with Rose on his mind. _

_He was sure Donna was asleep, so the Doctor made his way to the room with the rose on it. He flung his jacket and tie on the vanity chair, struggling to keep his composure as the familiar smell of her filled his senses. He laid sideways on the bed, his trainers barely touching the floor, and stared up at the stars. The Doctor loved Rose's ceiling. Made of glass, it showed the millions of stars, galaxies, and nebulas surrounding the TARDIS at the time. In the past few months, he realised why she loves staying in her room when she felt bad. The twinkling lights of the stars and the colourful clouds of gases calmed a person and temporarily mesmerized him. It reminded him of his dreams as a little boy on Gallifrey. If only he knew the world so much darker and madder than he thought. _

_Not to mention meaner. _

_The Doctor heard the TARDIS play in his head, it always played the same song, loud and clear, in this room. It was a lullaby from his home planet. The exact origins were unclear, but the rumour was that it was the song of the very first TARDIS. It was probably only a story though. He let the first of his silent tears, of losing someone you love and making a choice you didn't want to, fall. His hearts hurt, and it seemed impossible to think that humans with their one heart could deal with pain like this. The Doctor paid more attention to the song, remembering when his mother would sing it to him. (How she knew it and could sing it so well, he'd never know. She was human after all. Maybe it was from his father's TARDIS.)_

___Hush, my golden child.  
Lay your head to sleep.  
Close your eyes and dream pleasant dreams..  
Time will flow; life goes on.  
We will fly through starry skies  
And I will hold your dreams._

___Hush, my golden child.  
My precious child to keep.  
I will hold you close and never let you go.  
Time will flow; life goes on.  
We will fly through starry skies  
And I will hold your dreams._

___Hush, my golden child.  
You are sound asleep.  
May you know and feel my love for thee.  
Time will flow; life goes on.  
We will fly through starry skies  
And I will hold your dreams._

_The door swung open and the hallway flooded the room with light. The Doctor quickly sat up and turned his face away from the door to wipe his face. Donna gave a low whistle. _

_"Fancy place, but I'm going to guess that this isn't your room", she montioned to the purple walls and a pair of high heels near the closet door. The Doctor shook his head, and Donna looked around. "I was just to ask where the washer and dryer were-"  
"One hallway down to the right, and you can't miss the opening on the left about halfway down."____  
__Donna ignored him, came to the bed, and sat down next to him. "Who's room then?"  
He swallowed slowly and whispered, "A friend."  
__She looked around the room and back at his face, the reminiscent of tears still remaining. "Must have been someone special."  
"She was."  
"How'd you lose her then?"_

_The Doctor didn't want to talk about it, but he decided that maybe, maybe it was a good idea. What was that human wisdom, if you talk about it, you'll feel better?_

_He sighed. "I lost her."  
"You lost her? To like another guy?"  
"No, she's just gone."  
Donna was appalled at her own tactlessness and was quieter. "Sorry, If I'd know she was gone gone, I wouldn't have said anything."  
"It's fine."  
"No, no it's not. Not when someone you love dies."  
The Doctor stiffened up. "She's not dead."  
Donna gave him a confused look. "So then why aren't you going to get her, spaceboy? The longer you wait, the harder it'll get."  
"I already tried, and it's harder than you think. See, she's stuck in a parallel world."  
She gave him a look. "A parallel world?"  
He swallowed the lump in his throat at the finality of it. "Yeah."  
Donna shook her head. "I wouldn't have believed that when I got up this morning, but now-", she trailed off, "What happened?"  
"We were saving the universe." _

* * *

_The Doctor found a confidant in Donna, she was the closet thing he'd ever had to a sister. He shared with her the stories of his a Rose's adventures, but not sharing the life-threatening ones or the moments that were precious to him. It was nice, having someone that didn't get bored of listening to you go on and on about somebody else._

Donna realised the Doctor was a hurting man, or alien. Whatever. He needed someone, not to love, but a companion. Someone to listen to his memories and help him sort out his mind. Someone to stop him, someone to keep him going.


	17. Chapter 17: Enter Martha

**A/N: **Forty-nine followers? Why aren't you guys reviewing? O_o Just kidding. :p Kinda of. SOOOO, Martha appears! But is she the same Martha we know? And sorry, but Rose isn't coming back for a _little_ while yet. But I'll post some of her world in the next chapter. Enjoy!

* * *

After a week, or something close to it, in the Maldivian islands, Donna was typing away on her laptop. She was planning on keeping a journal of all the places that she and the Doctor went to. But at the moment she was distracted by other things. Namely, an alien fashion blog and a website where people posted things that _could_ be called conspiracies.

One that caught her eye from the Earth section was machines called ATMOS were being built into some cars and drivers of said cars were disappearing. It seemed fishy and she was debating on whether to ask the Doctor about it or not. After reading the blog, she decided to just go ask him about it.

Donna walked through hallways of the TARDIS and knew she was coming up to the console room because she heard a thud along with a unmanly screech and several aliens phrases that the TARDIS was kind enough to shock the Doctor for. Donna smirked as she walked into the room.

"Well, Spaceman, if you've had your fill of poking the insides of the poor TARDIS, I know where we should go next."

The Doctor pulled out from under the console muttering about spoiled ships and sucking on his finger. "And where's that, Ginger?"

Donna glared at him. "Don't call me that and the destination is Earth. Maybe you've heard of it? It's a big ball of water."  
"Earth.", he deadpanned. "Out of all of time and space, you want to go to Earth. For what? To visit your mum?"  
"Heavens, no. There's something fishy going on."

The Doctor smirked. "It _is_ a big ball of water."

"Shut up. I read it on the internet. There's this-", she paused when the Doctor started laughing. "What?"  
"Donna Noble, not everything you read on the internet is true."  
Donna folded her arms and spoke sarcastically. "Really? You mean I can't see who's unfriended me on Facebook?"  
"Technically you _could_. I mean, if you hacked into it, but-"

"_You can hack into Facebook?!_"  
"I've only done it once and it was dare.", he went back to tinkering with the TARDIS when he realized this conservation wasn't going anywhere. Donna rolled her eyes and sat cross legged on the floor.

"Anyway, as I was saying before I was rudely interrupted, I read_ on the internet-_" The Doctor snickered, but Donna kept going._ "-_that they're selling these cars with built in GPS systems."  
"Completely normal. They all have built in GPS by 2020."

"But this is right _now_. This system is called ATMOS, it operates all by itself. You don't even have to put in where you're going. You just tell it."

"Okay, so maybe a time agent broke the rules and brought future technology back.", he sarcastically murmured to himself.

"What? I can't hear you when you mutter."  
"Nothing."

"Ok, well, people have reported that the cars start moving at their own will and that many people who own these cars have been killed and they nothing in common accept for the fact that they all were suspicious of the ATMOS and were trying to find out more about it."

The Doctor was interested in this part and his head popped out. "And how exactly were they going about this?"

"Most of them had contacted a place called Rattigan Academy. And supposedly some military group, UNIT or whatever, is going investigate the ATMOS factory. But that's only a rumor."

The Doctor popped out from under the console and the TARDIS let out a groan of relief. He started punching out coordinates.

"And this, Donna, is why I chose you as companion."

Donna rolled her eyes. "No one chose me, Spaceman. I invited myself."

* * *

Donna sprinted along behind the Doctor as he swiftly marched up to UNIT headquarters with his hands in his pockets and his coat swishing behind him.

"So you're just going to march up to some military headquarters and say 'Oi, I'm the Doctor and I'm here to see what you got on the ATMOS.'?"  
The Doctor sighed. Why didn't companions ever trust his actions? "Donna Noble, that is _exactly_ what I'm going to do."

He pushed open the door and was met with several guns pointing at his face. A quick flash of sonic paper had them all standing to attention. A few moments later they were being shipped off to the control room of the ATMOS investigation.

"Sir.", a blonde colonel saluted him as he entered the room.  
"Oh, don't salute."  
Colonel looked shocked. "But it's an honour, sir. I've read all the files on you. Technically speaking, you're still on staff. You never resigned."  
Donna gaped at him. "What, you used to work for them?"  
"Yeah, long time ago. Back in the 70's. Or was it the 80's? But it was all a bit more homespun back then."  
"Times have changed, sir."  
"Yeah.",the Doctor breathed out. "That's enough of the sir."

A black women entered the room wearing full UNIT gear. As soon as she saw the Doctor she froze.

_It was him. _

* * *

_Fourteen-year-old Martha Jones shuffled down the sidewalk of London, wiping her eyes every few minutes. The life she dreamed of seemed to be falling apart. Her parents were breaking up and she was going to have to leave her academy for a public school, not to mention that her best friend had only died weeks ago in a car accident.  
She crossed the street without looking up and never saw the truck heading her way, but another man did. Martha felt herself being thrown to the curb and someone landing on top of her. She heard a lorry honk and it passed in the peripheral vision, in the corner of her eye. She gasped and started crying again when she realized she had been so close to death from not being careful. Someone, namely a man wearing a pin-striped suit, pulled her up by the elbows._

"_Ever heard of looking both ways before you cross a street?", he teased. Martha nodded her head and wiped her eyes with her hand. "Oh, come on-", he said softly,"-it couldn't have hurt that bad."_

"_But- But it does.", she cried. _

_The Doctor instantly realized that she wasn't talking about her scraped knees and palms. "Well, let's find somewhere where I can fix you up."  
She sniffed and looked up at him. "Your a doctor?"  
"Better yet. I'm the Doctor.", he winked and she gave him a watery smile._

* * *

_Half an hour later and one visit to the TARDIS later (Which Martha was sworn to secrecy about.), they were sitting on a park bench talking. _

"_So how about you tell me what's the matter?"  
"But you're a stranger.", she pointed out.  
"Ah, but you trust me don't you?", he smirked.  
Martha decided that she did, in fact, trust him. She sighed and blurted everything out. "My parents are breaking up, and if that's not bad enough, I have to leave the academy I'm in. I was hoping I could get into a good college afterwards." She smiled a watery smile up at him. "I'm going to be a doctor."  
The Doctor grinned at her. "Of course you are." She blushed and looked back to the ground.  
"And I lost my best friend a few weeks ago." Warm tears dripped from her eyes._

_The Doctor sighed and sat back on the bench. After a few moments he spoke. "So did I. She's gone.", he choked._

_Martha looked up at him. All this time he was happy and bouncing around, but now he was telling he had lost someone. The quick change in his demeanor surprised her.  
"She's dead?"  
"No, just gone."  
Martha paused a few moments before she came up with something to say. "Maybe you'll see her again."  
He shook his head. "I can't."_

"_I'm sorry."_

_There was an awkward silence before Martha's curiosity got the best of her. "So your a doctor?"_

_The Doctor gave her a crooked smile. "No, I'm _the_ Doctor."_

_She raised her eyebrow. "So your not _a_ doctor. Is it like a nickname or something?"_

"_Well, it's sort of my name." He scratched the back of his neck._

"_Your are joking, aren't you?"_

_He grinned. "Nope. Picked it out myself."_

_She shook her head as he began to tell stories of people who questioned his name and mistook him for being a real doctor, which he was, but not really. Martha sat there until sunset, listening to his stories which momentarily distracted her from her present problems and pulled her to a faraway world. She parted with a hesitant goodbye and hoped she would see the man again, but never did._

* * *

Martha laughed. All this time she was second guessing whether he was real or not, and now here he was, standing right in front of her. Her imaginary friend had come to life. She had read all the files on him, but there were only pictures from the eighties, and frankly they didn't look _anything_ like him.

The Colonel Mace turned around at her laugh.  
"Doctor Jones?"

She quickly stifled down her chuckling and saluted him. "Colonel. This is _the_ Doctor?" The Doctor and Donna turned around at his name.  
"Yes, I am and you would be?", the Doctor answered her questioned.  
She grinned and stuck out her hand. "Doctor Martha Jones. It's been a while, Doctor."  
"Um, do I know you?", he shook her hand.  
Her smile dropped. "You saved my life."

Donna raised an eyebrow. "He saves a lot of people's lives."

"I know. He told me stories."  
"He's never mentioned you."

"I only met him once."

"Now, don't start fighting. Can't bear fighting.", the Doctor interrupted.

Donna smirked at him. "You wish." She turned to Martha offered a hand. "Donna Noble."

Martha accepted her hand gratefully. "Like I said earlier, Martha Jones."

The Doctor looked up at her. "Wait, you mean _Martha_ Jones? As in the teenage girl who doesn't look both ways before crossing a street?"

"The one and only."  
"You've grown up. That's twice that's happened now.", he grumbled the last part to himself.  
Martha raised an eyebrow. "And you haven't. Does that mean that the TARDIS really is a time machine?"

"Yup."

Martha shook her head. "Still don't believe it."

The Doctor frowned. "People usually don't."

Martha's walkie-talkie sparked to life. _"Doctor Jones, report to base, please. Over."_  
Martha picked it up and brought it to her mouth. "This is Doctor Jones. Operation Blue Sky is go. I repeat, this is a go." She brought it down and switched the frequency. "Greyhound Six to Trap One. B Section, go. Search the ground floor. Grid pattern delta."  
The Doctor stiffened up at her commanding voice. "What are you searching for?"  
"Illegal aliens in the ATMOS factory." He gave her a disbelieving look. "Come on, Doctor. You've seen it. All those stories you told me. I thought they all were fairytales, but then I got involved in UNIT some years after searching for you. They've been changing. We have funding from the UN and everything."  
Colonel Mace grinned. "A modern UNIT for the modern world."  
Donna looked abashed. "So that means arresting ordinary factory workers, in the streets, in broad daylight? It's more like Guantanamo Bay." She turned to Colonel Mace. "Donna Noble, since you didn't ask. I'll have a salute."

Mace awkwardly looked over at the Doctor who nodded for him to go ahead. He turned to Donna a saluted. "Ma'am."  
Donna smiled sweetly at him. "Thank you."  
The Doctor rolled his eyes at her and looked at some papers on Mace's desk. "Tell me, what's going on in that factory?"  
"Yesterday, fifty-two people died in identical circumstances across the world in eleven different time zones. Five a.m. in the UK, six a.m. in France, eight a.m. in Moscow, one p.m. in China.", the Colonel explained.  
"You mean they died simultaneously?"  
"Exactly. Fifty two deaths at the exact same moment, worldwide."  
"How did they die?"  
"They were all inside their cars."  
Martha broke in. "They were poisoned. I checked the biopsies. No toxins. Whatever it is, left the system immediately."  
"What have the cars got in common?"  
"Completely different makes, but they're all fitted with ATMOS, which is made in the ATMOS factory."  
"What's ATMOS?

"Stands for Atmospheric Omission System. Fit ATMOS in your car, it reduces CO2 emissions to zero."  
"Zero? No carbon, none at all?" He thought for a moment. "And you think ATMOS is alien?"  
"It's our job to investigate that possibility." Mace gestured towards the door. They all loaded up in a back of a UNIT truck and to drive to the factory.

"So you're qualified now. You're a proper doctor.", the Doctor smiled at Martha.  
"UNIT rushed it through. given my experience in the field." She looked out the side of the truck. "Here we go. We're establishing a field base on site. They're dying to meet you."  
"Wish I could say the same.", the Doctor muttered.

They stepped out as paratroopers were rounding up the factory workers. Martha looked around the area."Sorry." She smiled at the Doctor and Donna. "Got to go." She picked up her walkie-talkie again. "B section mobilised. E section, F section, on my command." She ran off to another part of the factory.

Donna turned to Mace. "Is that what you did to her? Turned a teenage girl into a soldier?"

Mace ignored her and talked to the Doctor. "And this is where they make it, Doctor. Shipping worldwide. Seventeen factories across the globe, but this is the central depot, sending ATMOS to every country on Earth."

* * *

'_It really isn't much use going to a house of geniuses if they're going to try killing companions' family and join up with Sontarans._', the Doctor thought while sonicing Sylvia's car.

A redhead's voice broke him out of his thoughts. "But you tried sonicing it before. You didn't find anything."  
"Yeah, but now I know it's Sontaran, I know what I'm looking for.", he tried explaining.  
Wilf was more worried with other things other than his daughter engine at the moment. "The thing is, Doctor, that Donna is my only grandchild. You got to promise me you're going to take care of her."  
The Doctor chuckled. "She takes care of me."  
Wilf grinned. "Oh yeah, that's my Donna. She was always bossing us round when she was tiny. The Little General we used to call her."  
Donna glared at the Doctor when he smirked at her. "Yeah, don't start."  
"And some of the boys she used to turn up with. Different one every week."

"_Grandad-"_, she turned complaining, but interrupted by the Doctor jumping back from the spikes coming out of the ATMOS device.  
"Whoa. It's a temporal pocket. I knew there was something else in there. It's hidden just a second out of sync with real time."  
"But what's it hiding?", asked Donna, who was inspecting the spikes.

Sylvia came out of the house and rolled his eyes. "Men and their cars. Sometimes I think if I was a car- Oh, it's you. Doctor, was it"  
"Yeah, that's me."  
Wilf looked confused. "What, have you met him as well?"  
"Just a little while ago, when he dropped of Donna." She looked over the Doctor suspiciously.

Gas started pouring out of the spikes and the Doctor pushed Donna and Wilf back. He pointed his sonic screwdriver at the engine with a bang. "That'll stop it."  
Sylvia started going hysterical. "I told you. He's blown up the car!. Who is he, anyway? What sort of doctor blows up cars?"  
Donna shook her head and sighed. "Not now, Mum."  
"Oh, should I make an appointment?", Sylvia said sarcastically and left. The way she treated her daughter miffed the Doctor. Donna was like a sister to him. He turned back to the car.

"That wasn't just exhaust fumes, Some sort of artificial gas."  
Wilf looked excited. "And it's aliens, is it?"  
Donna furrowed her brows. "But if it's poisonous, then they've got poisonous gas in every car on Earth."

Wilf slipped into the car and started it up. "It's not safe. I'm going to get it off the street." When he shut the door, the car locked and gas started pouring out of the exhaust pipe.  
"Hold on! Turn it off. Granddad, get out of there!"  
"I can't! It's locked."

Sylvia came running out of the house to the sight of her dad stuck in the car, the Doctor sonicing the door, and Donna yelling at her grandfather. "What's he doing?"

Donna looked over her. "There's gas inside the car!" She looked over at the Doctor "He's going to choke! Doctor!"  
The Doctor kept sonicing the door and pulling on the handle. "It won't open!" He looked down the street and saw gas pouring out of almost all the cars. "It's the whole world." He ran to the front of the car and started pulling connections, but they did nothing and gas kept filling the car. Sylvia run into the house after seeing Wilf collapse and Donna turned to the Doctor, who had no idea what to do.

* * *

**A/N: **So Donna never really had a wedding. I think she's smarter than to agree to marry that creep. xD Reviews? I hate begging. *goes off to make cupcakes*


	18. Chapter 18: Gaseous Sontarans

**A/N:** Okay, so not many reviews for the last chapter. I think maybe I posted at the wrong time. *shrugs* Well, here's you chapter with a reminiscent Doctor, insecure Donna, and a solider-turned-slightly-wimpy-at-the-end. Did I forget to mention there was Rose somewhere in here?

* * *

Sylvia came running with an axe and the Doctor and Donna gaped at her while she hacked the windshield open.  
"I can't believe you've got an axe.", Donna shook her head.  
"Burglars."  
The Doctor pulled Wilf out of the car and pushed him towards the house. "Get inside the house. Just try and close off the doors and windows."

Jenkins drove up in a black cab and rolled down the window. "Doctor, this is all I could find that hasn't got ATMOS."  
The Doctor turned back to his companion. "Donna, you coming?"  
"Yeah."  
Her mother cried out behind her and she sighed. "Donna, don't go. Look what happens every time that Doctor appears. Stay with us, please."  
"You go, my darling.", Wilf contradicted.  
"Dad!"  
"Don't listen to her. You go with the Doctor." Donna shook her head at their bickering while she got in the cab. "That's my girl!"

Jenkins drove off in a rush and Donna sighed. "You'd think I was bloody fifteen again."

The Doctor didn't say anything while Jenkins smirked in the rear view mirror.

* * *

They ended up at UNIT's mobile headquarters, where Donna stepped out of the cab and was hit with a wall of smog. "The air is disgusting."  
The Doctor sniffed in disapproval. "It's not so bad for me. Go on, get inside the TARDIS. Oh, I've never given you a key." He dug through his coat pocket until he found his spare and handed it to her. "Keep that." She looked disbelieving. "Go on, that's yours. Quite a big moment really."

He thought about how when he first had given a key to Rose, he had tried to run away, but the TARDIS wouldn't have it. The Doctor secretly hoped that Rose still kept it on the gold chain around her neck, like she always had.

"Yeah, maybe we can get sentimental after the world's finished choking to death."  
"Good idea." He turned towards the factory.  
"Where are you going?"  
"To stop a war."

* * *

Six years into the future, Rose and Gwen were working with the techie of their Torchwood group, Rhys. They had found a safe way to send messages across the void, but could only send them to Earth. It was two in the morning and all three of them were sitting around inhaling coffee, even though they all hated it.

"And why, exactly, am I down at two in the morning when I should be sleeping because I have classes tomorrow?", Rose asked from her reclined position in an office chair.  
Rhys was typing furiously on a machine that was meant to track the progress of walls of the universe. "Sorry, Commander, but I found a way to send messages across the Void. Thought you might be interested."  
Rose popped an eye open. "It works?"  
He nodded and kept typing. "I just to find something to send it to."  
Rose came over to the screen and bit her lip in concentration. "How do you find something?"  
Rhys scrunched up his face. "I don't really know. I'm just scanning for something that uses a substantial amount of energy."

They sat in the charis, waiting for a while and letting Gwen sleep on the floor. Rhys finally got the nerve up to ask Rose something.  
"So are we here as co-workers or friends tonight?"  
Rose blinked, momentarily confused. "Friends. What do you want to ask, Rhys?"  
Rhys looked back at the computer screen. "What exactly are you looking for?"  
Rose sighed and leaned forward, setting her elbows on her knees. "It's a ship. It's called the TARDIS."  
"TARDIS? Does that stand for something?"  
"Time and relative dimension in space."  
"It's a time machine.", Rhys asked carefully.  
Rose laughed at his disbelieving look. "Yes. Now you know why no one knows anything about me. They'd think I was crazy."  
Rhys thought out comment that wouldn't offend her. "Your not from this universe."  
"No."  
"And you want to get back."  
"Yes."  
Rhys sat back. "This wouldn't have to do with that blue box that showed up during the first Cyberman invasion, would it?  
She grinned and had a faraway look. "That was us."  
"Us?"  
Rose's smile faltered. "The Doctor and I."  
"The Doctor?"  
Rose sighed. "Only my mum, Pete, Gwen, and I know about him. Well, and Tony too, but I think that he thinks the Doctor is a bedtime story."  
Rhys nodded and looked at the sleeping woman beside them. "How does Gwen know?"  
"I told her."  
"Ah."

Rhys noticed a flash on the screen, as did Rose and they ran to it. Rhys started typing away furiously.  
"All I have to do is travel the gamma rays that it's- Grab onto- It's got to have some kind of communication device-", he trailed off while looking between his fingers and the screen.  
Rose breathed out nervously, hoping that there would be some chance that she could see him.  
"Got it!", Rhys yelled and startled Gwen out of sleep. "Recognize it Rose?"

It was like a webcam of some sort and Rose could see the inside of the TARDIS. There was no Doctor, only the back of a redheaded woman. Rose started yelling for the Doctor, which scared Rhys and Gwen, but the woman didn't seem to hear her. Rose kept screaming his name until Gwen grabbed her shoulder.  
"Rhys says it stopped working."  
Rose silently grabbed her keys and handgun and left the room.

Gwen drove her to her flat in Kensington. They were silent all the way there. Rose sat stiff like a statue, she was no longer wanting to sleep. Gwen pulled up in front of the building she lived in.  
"Here we are.", she gave Rose a sad smile.  
"Thanks, Gwen. See you Friday."

Rose choose to walk up the five flights of stairs instead of using the lift. She let herself in and locked the door behind her. Not bothering to turn on the lights, she walked straight into her room and laid on the bed. She didn't know what to think. She had been so close to seeing the Doctor again. Rose closed her eyes and let tears silently flow. She was tired of working and never seeing anything for it, tired of crying and waiting, and just pain tired of being tired. She fell asleep to thinking of the inside of the TARDIS. Rose smiled at knowing that she hadn't changed.

Her head still felt empty without the comforting hum of the sentient time machine.

* * *

Donna missed the blonde screaming silently on the screen of the TARDIS, but the TARDIS didn't. The TARDIS wished the Doctor would've been there to see her, even if it hurt his hearts. Rose was leaner, her clothes darker, and a hollow look had invaded her eyes. It was obvious that she was hurting. The TARDIS immediate grabbed the coordinates from the the alternate universe and started working on equations that would help Rose break through the Void without tearing. It would be easy, because the ship could sense the walls of the universes were weakening.

Donna turned around at the sound of the Doctor's voice. "This is the Doctor."  
Donna ran over to the screen. "Doctor, I'm here. Can you hear me?"  
Staal, the Sontaran captain spoke. "Doctor, breathing your last?"

Back at UNIT's headquaters, everyone but the Doctor was disgusted at the Sontarans.

"They're like trolls.", the Colonel spoke up.  
The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Yeah, loving the diplomacy, thanks. So, tell me, General Staal, since when did you lot become cowards?"  
"How dare you!"  
Mace raised his eyebrow. "Oh, that's diplomacy?"  
Staal scoffed. "Doctor, you impugn my honour."  
"Yeah, I'm really glad you didn't say belittle, because then I'd have a field day. But poison gas? That's the weapon of a coward and you know it. Staal, you could blast this planet out of the sky and yet you're sitting up above watching it die. Where's the fight in that? Where's the honour? Or are you lot planning something else, because this isn't normal Sontaran warfare. What are you lot up to?"  
"A general would be unwise to reveal his strategy to the opposing forces."  
The Doctor smirked. "Ah, the war's not going so well, then. Losing, are we?"  
"Such a suggestion is impossible."  
Colonel Mace looked confused. "What war?"  
The Doctor turned to him. "The war between the Sontarans and the Rutans. It's been raging, far out in the stars, for fifty thousand years. Fifty thousand years of bloodshed, and for what?"

"For victory. Sontar-ha. Sontar-ha. Sontar-"  
The Doctor rolled his eyes and switched the channel to some 42nd century cartoon. "Give me a break."

Colonel was nervously moving his feet. "Doctor. I would seriously recommend that this dialogue is handled by official Earth representation."  
The Doctor nodded and switched the frequency back to the Sontarans. "Finished?"  
"You will not be so quick to ridicule when you'll see our prize. Behold. We are the first Sontarans in history to capture a TARDIS."  
The Doctor smirked and raised an eyebrow. "Well, as prizes go, that's _noble_. As they say in Latin, _Donna nobis pacem_."

Inside the TARDIS, Donna grinned. "That's me. I'm here."

"Did you never wonder about its design? It's a phone box. It contains a phone. A telephonic device for communication. Sort of symbolic. Like, if only we could communicate, you and I."  
"All you have communicated is your distress, Doctor.", Staal said.  
"Big mistake though, showing it to me because I've got remote control."  
"Cease transmission!"

Donna was searching through the contacts on her cellphone. "But who do I phone? Doctor, what number are you on?" The scanner was blank. "You haven't even got a number." She felt the TARDIS being jerked around as the Sotarans moved it.  
"What do I do?" She scrolled through the contacts and decided to call her mum and granddad At least she could make sure they were okay.

"Mum, you all right?"  
"_Donna, where are you, sweetheart?_"  
"_Is that her_?", Wilf asked in the background.  
"_Your granddad's sealing us in. He's sealing the windows. Our own house, and we're sealed in. All those things they said about pollution and ozone and carbon, they're really happening aren't they?_"  
"There's people working on it, Mum. They're going to fix it, I promise."  
"_Oh, like you'd know. You're so clever._"  
Donna sighed. "Oh, don't start. Please don't."  
"_I'm sorry. I wish you were here_."  
"_Now, come on, Sylvia. Look, that doesn't help._", Wilf took the phone. "_Donna, where are you?_"  
"It's sort of hard to say. You all right?"  
"_Yeah. Fighting fit, yeah. Is he with you, the Doctor?_"  
Donna bit her lip nervously. "No. I'm all on my own."  
_"Look, you promised he was going to look after you."_  
"He will, Gramps. There's something he needs me to do. I just don't know what."  
"W_ell, I mean, the whole place is covered. The whole of London, they're saying. The whole, the whole world. It's the scale of it, Donna. I mean, how can one man stop all that?_"  
"Trust me. He can do it."  
"_Yeah, well, if he doesn't, you tell him he'll have to answer to me."  
_Donna grinned at the thought of her grandfather ranting on the Doctor. "I will. Just as soon as I see him, I'll tell him."

* * *

Donna had no idea why the Doctor thought she could do this. Quite frankly, Donna Noble had been considered incompetent by everyone she meet, excluding her grandfather. She had never really done anything in her whole life.  
She grabbed the mallet that the Doctor hit the TARDIS with a sneaked out the door and gave an almighty whack on the back of the Sontaran's neck. Donna smiled at herself as he fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes.

"Back of the neck.", she spoke into the phone.  
_"Now then, you got to find the external junction feed to the teleport."_  
Maybe she wasn't so brillaint after all. "What, what's it look like?"  
_"A circular panel on the wall. Big symbol on the front like a letter T with a horizontal line through it. Or two Fs back to back."_  
"Oh. Well, there's a door."  
_"Should be a switch by the side."_  
"Yeah there is. But it's Sontaran shaped, you need three fingers."  
"_You've got three fingers_.", the Doctor said with sarcastic exasperation.  
"Oh, yeah."  
She pushed the button. "i'm through."  
"_Oh, you are brilliant, you are._"  
Donna rolled her eyes. "Shut up, Yoda. Right, T with a line through it."

The Doctor lookde over at Colonel Mace who was getting his troops ready to battle the Sontarans. "Got to go. Keep the line open."  
"Counter attack.", the aColonel shouted out.  
"I said, you don't stand a chance!"  
Colonel Mace ignored him and kept giving orders. "Positions. That means everyone." He tossed a gas mask to the Doctor as the not-Martha walked up.  
"You're not going without me.", she said.  
"Wouldn't dream of it."

The Doctor put on the gas mask and thought back to the second world war. He and Rose had meet Jack there. Team TARDIS, they had called themselves. Now here they were, each separated and hurting without a way to get back to each other. To make matters worse, Rose didn't know Jack was alive and Jack didn't know Rose was alive.  
He thought about the creepy child who had followed them around in that semi-abandoned hospital. Jack and Rose, who were like brother and sister, would've laughed at these gas masks and made endless inside jokes that only they three would get. So when Colonel Mace asked the Doctor what he thought, could only say one thing without choking up.

"Are you my mummy?"

* * *

Saving planet was a harder task than Donna had thought it would be. Definitely not something she would want to do everyday. She told Wilf what they all had done and made him promised that he wouldn't say a word to her mum. Donna had no intentions of being treated like she was crazy.

"I won't tell her. Best not. Just keep it as our little secret, eh?"  
Donna smiled at her grandfather. "Yeah."  
"And you go with him, that wonderful Doctor. You go and see the stars, and then bring a bit of them back for your old Gramps."  
Donna gave him a huge hug. "Love you."

She walked back to the TARDIS and fingered the key to it in her pocket. It was starting to feel like home.

"How were they?", Martha asked when she came into the TARDIS.  
Donna shrugged. "Oh, same old stuff. They're fine. So, you going to come with us? We're not exactly short of space."  
Martha's smiled faltered. She'd never admit it, but she was a little scared of the thought of travelling through time and space. "Oh, I'd like too, but, you know. I'm good here, back at home. I have a job with UNIT. Never mind the universe, I've got a great big world of my own to save."

The TARDIS felt the call of another Time Lord and set the coordinates. She didn't bother checking with the Doctor first. There wasn't any time to waste, even considering the fact that she could, in fact, travel through time. Martha would have to endure one trip into space. She slammed the doors shut.

"What? What?", the Doctor ran around the console yelling.  
Martha turned pale and grabbed a coral strut. "Doctor, don't you dare!"  
He threw his hands in the air and was thrown to the ground. "No, no, no. I didn't touch anything. We're in flight. It's not me."  
Donna, who was expertly holding onto the railing, asked, "Where are we going?"  
The Doctor looked at the console screen while running his hands through his hair. "I don't know. It's out of control!"  
Martha shook her head and used her most threatening voice. "Doctor, just listen to me. You take me home. Take me home right now!"

* * *

**A/N:** Annnnnn' the Doctor goes off to be heartbroken again, but will Jenny be everything she seems to be? Will Rose be returning? O_o Find out next time on _Written In Time Itself. *cue Doctor Who credits and music*_


	19. Chapter 19: Rose's First Child

**A/N:** Woah. _Almost 50 reviews_! So here's some heartbreak and a nice dose of Rose. And a flashback. ;)

* * *

Rose hit the snooze button on her way to the shower. The hot water washed away her sleepiness as she thought about her day. She needed to finished packing her two suitcases, drop a a key to her flat over to her mum, and settle a few things at Torchwood before hopping on her 2 p.m. flight the United States. After taking four years of engineering at Cambridge, she hope she would find what she was looking for in Standford, California.

After stepping out of the shower, Rose put on black cargo pants, dark green tshirt, and a black jacket. She dried her honey brown hair and threw it up in her usual ponytail. She threw the rest of her clothes, along with a few notebooks in her bags and walked out of the flat, locking the door behind her.

* * *

Seven years into Rose's future, she materialised in an underground bunker. She quickly looked for somewhere to hide, that being the usual thing to do once you materialised randomly. Sound of guns cocking stopped her. She raised her hands off of her gun.

"Ok, ok. I'm not going to try anything"  
"Process her.", a pimple-faced boy commanded and she was dragged to a large machine in the middle of the room.  
"Oi! What do you think you're doing?", she fought them.  
The boy shrugged. "Everybody that's worth something gets processed."  
They shoved her arm into the machine and she felt a searing pain in her palm. Rose yanked her arm out of the machine and it was scraped lengthwise.

"You've stopped the processing!"  
They tried to grab her, but she hit a button on her dimension cannon. "Sorry, boys, I've got somewhere else to be."

Rose screamed in frustration when the TARDIS appeared while she disappearing.

* * *

The Doctor, Donna, and Martha were hanging on to console for dear life.  
"Where in the world is it going?", Donna yelled.  
"Obviously not anywhere in your world, Donna.", the Doctor deadpanned and then he turned serious as he staring pressing buttons. "The control's aren't working.

The TARDIS was pulling them towards Messaline. She could sense a Time Lord presence there and a faint hint of the Bad Wolf, but it was fading. Probably wasn't the right timeline, she decided. A Time Lord was still there though. She landed with a thud and the travellers headed out the doors.  
Martha stayed in back and looked rather scared. It was her first trip in space and it already wasn't going well, and that wasn't even considering the fact that she didn't even give her consent. The bloody ship took off with her in it. She was still excited to see a new planet though.

"Why would the TARDIS bring us here?", the Doctor wondered, looking around at the trashy underground bunker.

Martha looked around smiling and Donna eyed her. "Thought you wanted to go home."

"I know, but it's just this feeling-"  
"Like you swallowed a hamster?", Donna asked jokingly as they walked around the other side of the TARDIS. The Doctor rolled his eyes at her.

"Don't move! Stay where you are! Drop your weapons!", a surprising young voice commanded and all three of them lifted their hands in the air.

"We're not armed. Never armed. See?", the Doctor said.

Clive, the young pimple face, sighed. "Imagine this. Two sets of random people show up in the room within ten minutes of each other. I thought my life was relatively simple.", he grumbled quietly, but they could still hear him.  
"Nothing's ever simple with him around.", Donna jabbed a thumb towards the Doctor.

Clive motioned towards the Doctor. "Process him first. We've got that other lady's DNA in there, shouldn't be a problem, but it works better when there's one of each."  
Two large soldiers grabbed him and shoved his arm into the machine. They made sure to hold him down.

"What's going on?", Martha demanded.  
Donna bristled when he yelped. "Leave him alone!"

"Everyone we deem smart or powerful enough is processed."

"it's taken a tissue sample. Ow.", the Doctor whined. "And extrapolated it. Some kind of accelerator?"  
Clive nodded as the Doctor's hand was released. "Usually one person is processed at a time, so I don't know how this is going to work."  
The Doctor inspected his hand. "What on earth? That's just- Wait, what do you mean usually?"  
Clive waved his hand as the metal doors of a glass container began to open. "There was a blonde who materialised out of nowhere earlier. Pulled her arm out before it could finish though. She wasn't to happy."

The Doctor didn't really register what he was saying as the doors opened. A skinny blonde in combat gear and a khaki shirt stepped out. Clive threw her a rifle and the girl handled it like she had it her entire life.

The Doctor gaped as Martha asked, "Where did _she_ come from?"  
"From me." was his reply.  
"From you? How- Who is she?", Donna asked, stunned speechless for once in his life.  
"_She_ is right here.", the girl mumbled.  
The Doctor was astonished. "Well, she's- She's my daughter."  
The girl gave him a cheeky grin that was echo of his. "Hello, Dad."

Cline rolled his eyes. "You primed to take orders and ready to fight?"  
The girl smiled and cocked her gun. "Instant mental download of all strategic and military protocols, sir. Generation five thousand soldier primed and in peak physical health. Oh, I'm ready.", she took her place with the other soldiers.

Donna found words to speak. "Did you say _daughter_?"  
The Doctor pressed his lips together in thought. "Mm, Technically."  
"How?", Martha asked.  
"Progenation. Reproduction from a single organism. Means one parent is biological mother and father. You take a sample of diploid cells, split them into haploids, then recombine them in a different arrangement and grow. Very quickly, apparently."  
"Apparently.", Donna said. "But pimple boy said there was a woman here before who pulled her arm out and then disappeared."  
"Hm.", the Doctor was still too deep in thought to think about it.

* * *

"So who exactly are the Hath?", the Doctor asked General Cobb.  
"Back at the dawn of this planet, these ancient halls were carved from the earth. Our ancestors dreamt of a new beginning. A colony where human and Hath would work and live together."  
"So what happened?"  
"The dream died. Broken, along with Hath promises. They wanted it all for themselves. But those early pioneers, they fought back. They used the machines to produce soldiers instead of colonists, and began this battle for survival."

"There's nothing but earth outside. Why's that? Why build everything underground?", Donna broke in.  
Cline shook his head. "The surface is too dangerous."  
"Well, then why build windows in the first place? And what does this mean?" She nodded to the numbers 601707 on a plaque.  
"The rites and symbols of our ancestors. The meaning's lost in time."  
The Doctor thought for a moment. He was sure he would have remembered a war like this from his learning. "How long's this war gone on for?"  
General Cobb shrugged. "Longer than anyone can remember. Countless generations marked only by the dead."  
Donna gaped at him. "What? Fighting all this time?"

Jenny looked up from her thought sadly. "Because we must. Every child of the machine is born with this knowledge. It's our inheritance. It's all we know. How to fight and how to die."

The Doctor looked at her. He may not accept her as his daughter, but she was more Time Lord than he realised. How she was made was exactly how his friends were made. Made by looms, and made only for the purpose to fight in the Time War against the Daleks. It was the only thing they knew how to do until they died. He was thankful for his half-human heritage. It made his young life hard since their society was prejudice against humans, but at least he could feel emotions. However, he wasn't so sure that it was good thing any more.

* * *

The Doctor and Donna sat in the cage labelled 60120716 with Jenny, as Donna had named her. The Doctor was worried about Martha. She get herself killed by not knowing intergalactic social graces. Donna was contemplating the numbers on their cell and what they meant. Jenny was mainly feeling sorry for herself. Honestly, she had a right to be. Her father wouldn't even accept her as his child and her comrades thought she wouldn't be any help in the war, so now she sat all by herself with nobody, except maybe Donna.

"More numbers.", Donna murmured. "They've got to mean something."  
The Doctor huffed. "Makes as much sense as the Breath of Life story."  
Jenny looked up surprised. "You mean that's not true?"  
Donna shook her head. "No, it's a myth. Isn't it, Doctor?"  
"Yes, but there could still be something real in that temple. Something that's become a myth. A piece of technology, a weapon."  
"So the Source could be a weapon and we've just given directions to Captain Nutjob?"  
The Doctor leaned forward on his hands in agitation. "Oh, yes."  
"Not good, is it?"  
"That's why we need to get out of here, find Martha and stop Cobb from slaughtering the Hath."

He noticed Jenny smirking at him with the same look that Rose had when he was blind to something that was plainly obvious. "What are you- What are you staring at?"  
Jenny chuckled. "You keep insisting you're not a soldier, but look at you drawing up strategies like a proper general."  
The Doctor shook his head. "No, no. I'm trying to stop the fighting."  
She raised an eyebrow in another very-Rose-like way. (Why was he thinking about her so much today?) "Isn't every soldier?"  
"Well, I suppose- But that's-" He scratched the back of his neck. "Technically, I haven't got time for this. Donna, give me your phone. Time for an upgrade." The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver and Jenny nodded to it.  
"And now you've got a weapon."  
"It's not a weapon.", the Doctor shook his head.  
"But you're using it to fight back." She grinned at him. "I'm going to learn so much from you. You are such a soldier.", Jenny teased him in another way that reminded him of Rose.

This was going to be a long, tiring day.

"Donna, will you tell her?", the Doctor whined.  
Donna just smirked at him. "You, the man with the gifted gob, is speechless. I'm loving this. You keep on, Jenny."

They heard the soldiers cry outside the cell and their boots as they started marching.  
The Doctor sighed. "They're getting ready to move out. We have to get past that guard."  
The slow smile came over Jenny's face. "I can deal with him."  
"No, you're not going anywhere."  
"What?"  
"You belong here with them." Jenny looked like someone had punched her in the stomach.

Donna gaped at the seemingly uncaring Time Lord. "She belongs with us. With you. She's your daughter."  
"She's a soldier. She came out of a machine."  
"Oh yes, I know that bit." Donna thought of something that might change his mind. "Listen, have you got that stethoscope?" The Doctor dug it out of his pocket. "Give it to me. Come on."  
She came over to Jenny and starting listening to her heart.

"What are you doing?", Jenny asked.  
"It's all right.", she comforted her. "Just hold still."

Jenny sat still and Donna motioned for the Doctor. "Come here. Listen, and then tell me where she belongs."

The Doctor listened and his own hearts stopped. He hadn't heard a second heartbeat, besides his own, in a long time. "Two hearts."  
"Exactly."

Jenny looked confused. "What's going on?"  
"Does that mean she's a-" Donna thought for a moment. "What _do_ you call a female Time Lord?"  
"What's a Time Lord?", Jenny questioned her.  
The Doctor spoke up instead. "It's who I am. It's where I'm from."  
"And I'm from you."  
The Doctor shook his head and stood up. "You're an echo, that's all." Jenny flinched. "A Time Lord is so much more. A sum of knowledge, a code, a shared history, a shared suffering. Only it's gone now, all of it. Gone forever."  
"What happened?", she asked softly in a tone that reminded him of someone else.  
"There was a war."  
"Like this one?"  
"Bigger. Much bigger."  
Jenny struggled for the right words. "And you fought and killed?"  
"Yes."

Jenny thought for moment more her warm hazel eyes meet his. "Then how are we different?"

Needless the say, the Doctor was stunned. They weren't different, that was his whole point of not accepting her. He didn't want there to be more. The Time Lords were a stuffy, prejudice race. She shouldn't be a part of it, then again, she hadn't asked for it either. Her existence wasn't her choice, and he wasn't helping by lashing out against her, but he didn't want to hurt again. The Doctor had enough pain and hurt to last him a lifetime. More than one, actually. The last thing he needed was for something to add to it.

Jenny got up from the bench and padded to the door. "Hey."  
Cline eyed her. "I'm not supposed to talk to you. I'm on duty."  
Jenny grinned. "I know. Guarding me. So does that mean I'm dangerous, or that I need protecting?."  
Cline smirked. "Protecting from what?"  
"Oh, I don't know. Men like you?"

Jenny kissed him and he was surprised, pleasantly of course, but it caught him off guard. He felt something cold press into his chest and looked down to see his own pistol and Jenny's grin. "Now be a dear and open the door, would you?"

The Doctor gaped at her and Donna grinned. "I'd like to see you try that."

* * *

"I'm trying to save your life."

Frankly the Doctor was tired of people doing that.

"Listen to me. The killing. After a while, it infects you and once it does, you're never rid of it."  
Jenny shook her head. "We don't have a choice."  
"We always have a choice.", the Doctor yelled.  
Yes, she thought, I do have a choice. "I'm sorry." She ran down hall and heard he father call after her. She ducked behind a crate when they started shooting at her, she fired a few shots back, but didn't hit anybody. She didn't want to hit anybody.

General Cobb spoke. "You're a child of the machine. You're on my side. Join us. Join us in the war against the Hath. It's in your blood, girl. Don't deny it."

Jenny felt her hearts clench. She didn't want to be like them. Facing Cobb, she lifted her gun and shot a hole in the steam pipe above his head. Then she ran. Love the running, she thought.  
The Doctor grinned as he saw her come around the corner. "Jenny, come on. That's it.", he cheered her on. But then the lasers flickered back on.  
"The circuit's looped back.", he said frightened.  
"Then zap it back again!", yelled Donna.  
"The controls are back there."  
Jenny looked towards the oncoming footsteps. "They're coming."  
The Doctor started panicking. "Wait, just- There isn't- Jenny, I can't-", he broke off.

Something clicked in Jenny's mind and she smiled. "I'll have to manage on my own. Watch and learn, Father."  
She threw her weapon on the ground and ran towards the lasers. Jenny flipped through them like they were nothing. Gymnastics came easy to her apparently. She landed at the other end in front of the Doctor and Donna.

"No way! But that was impossible.", Donna gaped.  
"Not impossible. Just a bit unlikely. Brilliant! You were brilliant. Brilliant.", the Doctor gushed.  
Jenny grinned. "I didn't kill him. General Cobb, I could have kill him but I didn't. You were right. I had a choice."

Maybe she wasn't just a soldier. The Doctor felt his hearts rise in a state of fatherly pride at his new-found daughter.

* * *

"So you travel together, but you're not together?"  
"What? No way. No, we're friends, that's all. I mean, we're not even the same species." Donna wrinkled a nose in that thought. No way could put up with him. This Rose, wherever she was, had some serious patience. "There's probably laws against it."  
Jenny raised an eyebrow. "And what's it like, the travelling?"  
"Oh, never a dull moment." The Doctor snickered. "It can be terrifying, brilliant and funny, sometimes all at the same time. I've seen some amazing things though. Whole new worlds."  
Jenny practically jumped up and down on the spot. "Oh, I'd love to see new worlds."  
"You will." She elbowed the Doctor. "Won't she?"  
"Hmm?", said the Doctor, who acted like he wasn't listening.  
"Do you think Jenny will see any new worlds?"  
"I suppose so."

Jenny gave a maniac grin. "You mean- You mean you'll take me with you?"  
The Doctor smiled at her enthusiasm. "Well, we can't leave you here, can we?"  
"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you." She gave him a quick hug and bounded down the hall. "Come on, let's get a move on."  
"Careful, there might be traps.", he yelled out as she got ahead of them.

Donna shook her head and chuckled. "Kids. They never listen." The Doctor watched Jenny with a faraway look. "Oh, I know that look. I see it a lot round our way. Blokes with pushchairs and frowns. You've got dad-shock."  
He lifted an eyebrow. "Dad-shock?"  
She shrugged. "Sudden unexpected fatherhood. Take a bit of getting used to."  
"No, it's not that."  
"Well, what is it then? Having Jenny in the TARDIS, is that it? What's she going to do, cramp your style? Like you've got a sports car and she's going to turn it into a people-carrier?"  
The Doctor shook his head and sighed. "Donna, I've been a father before."  
"What?"  
"I lost all that a long time ago. Along with everything else."  
She didn't say anything for a few seconds. "I'm sorry. I didn't know. Why didn't you tell me? You talk all the time, but you don't say anything."  
"I know- I'm just- When I look at her now, I can see them.", he choked out. "The hole they left, all the pain that filled it. I just don't know if I can face that every day."  
Donna laid a hand on his arm. "It won't stay like that. She'll help you. We both will."  
"But when they died, that part of me died with them. It'll never come back. Not now."

The Doctor thought a little bit might of himself would come back once, when he had met a pink-and-yellow human. He was broken, but she was so patient and understanding. She had loved him, but never pushed it. He felt bad for never telling her that he-

"I tell you something, Doctor. Something I've never told you before. I think you're wrong." Donna sighed and continued. "Now I'm not saying I know how you feel, because I don't, but I know it hurts. That part of you-"

She was interrupted by gunfire and Jenny ran back to them with a grin.  
"They've blasted through the beams. Time to run again. Love the running, yeah?"  
The Doctor choked, remembering another girl who had said that with the same eyes. Why were they so alike? Was it just wistful thinking on his part?

He nodded and stiffly smiled. "Love the running."

* * *

"_You can't win. No one can. You don't even know why you're here."_

Wasn't that the truth in his case too?

"I'm the Doctor, and I declare this war is over." He threw the Sphere on the floor and gas and energy floated up.  
"What's happening?", Jenny asked in wonderment.  
"The gases will escape and trigger the terraforming process."  
"What does that mean?"  
He grinned at her. "It means a new world."

Jenny grinned back, but then she noticed Cobb raise his gun out of the corner of her eye. She jumped as he aimed at the Doctor. "No!"

The Doctor grabbed her and laid her head in his lap.  
"Jenny? Jenny, talk to me, Jenny.", he swept the hair out of her face.  
"A new world. It's beautiful.", she murmured.  
He choked up. "Jenny, be strong now. You need to hold on, do you hear me? We've got things to do, you and me, hey? We can go anywhere and everywhere. You choose." His tears fell on her.  
"That sounds good."  
The Doctor kept stroking her her. "You're my daughter, and we've only just got started. You're going to be great. You're going to be more than great. You're going to be amazing. You hear me? Jenny?"

She nodded and smiled softly and her eyes closed. The Doctor's hearts stopped. He knew why he didn't do this any more. He clutched her body to himself in hope.  
"Two hearts. Two hearts. She's like me. If we wait. If we just wait.", chanted more to himself than anybody else.

Martha swallowed a laid a hand on his shoulder. She had done this way to many times in her UNIT career. "There's no sign, Doctor. Even if she is like you, maybe it's not enough."  
"She was too much like me." He kissed her forehead and laid her on the ground.

The Doctor stood up and the Oncoming Storm clouded his eyes. He walked over the kneeling General Cobb and grabbed his gun and pulled safety. Placing the pistol at the man's head, he thought he would. Just this once he'd get his revenge.

"_The killing. After a while, it infects you and once it does, you're never rid of it."  
"We don't have a choice."  
"We always have a choice."_

The Doctor took a shuddering breath and pulled back the gun. Audible breaths were taken by everyone. The Doctor pulled Cobb up by his collar.

"I never would. Have you got that? I never would." He threw the pistol across the room and it went off. "When you start this new world, this world of Human and Hath, remember that. Make the foundation of this society a man who never would."

A tearful blonde hid behind a crate, quietly trying not to cry. Oh, how she wanted to comfort him, but it wasn't the right timeline.

* * *

"Are you sure about this?", Donna asked Martha.  
"Yeah, positive. I don't think I can do this."  
"I don't know how could I ever go back to normal life after seeing all this. I'm going to travel with that man forever." The Doctor flinched at her choice of words.  
"Good luck.", Martha chuckled.  
"And you."

The Doctor walked on with Martha. "We're making a habit of this.", he grinned. "Don't think I could convince you too come."  
Martha blushed. "No, you'd think it'd get easier. UNIT, then this, but no." She thought for a moment before looking up at him. "I thought for a moment there you'd finally found something worth living for."

"Oh, there's always something worth living for, Martha."

_But what was it? _

"Bye, Doctor.", she hugged him.  
"Goodbye, Doctor Jones."

* * *

Jenny's mind woke up suddenly and she gasped. If only she had woken up earlier and Dad knew that she was alive. She felt someone brush her hair back. The woman smiled at her with her tongue in her teeth. "Hello."  
"Who are you?"  
"Oh, that's a great way to meet your mum."  
"My mum?", Jenny raised an eyebrow. "But that's not supposed to happen with the machines."  
Rose chuckled. "Let's say I threw a little fit while processing and got my DNA stuck in there." She blew a breath out and Jenny sat up.  
"Do you know my Dad?"  
Rose tried to smile. "Yeah, but I can't see him just yet."  
Jenny looked confused. "Why not?  
She sighed. "It's complicated, but when you see him again, tell him this. Bad Wolf is coming."  
Jenny furrowed her brows. "Bad Wolf. Isn't that from a fairytale?"

A unknown memory hit Rose like a wave.

_"Bad Wolf? That's name you'd choose, Caltha?", Koschei asked while Irene laughed. _

_The young trio was discussing what names they'd choose if they ever went to the Academy. _

_"Don't laugh. It's from my favorite story. What would _you_ choose, Koschei?"_  
_"I'm don't know, actually. I'd like to be a teacher. What about you Irene?"_  
_Her eyes twinkled. "Something mysterious and odd. Hm. What about River Song?"  
Koschei laughed out loud and Caltha pressed her hand over his mouth. "Shut up. It's a lovely name, Irene. Definitely mysterious."  
"Stupid name.", Koschei muttered._

Rose shook her head and smiled. "Yeah, it is. I have to go now, Jenny. Be brave and look out for yourself, yeah?"  
Jenny nodded sadly and Rose vanished right in front of her. She ran down the hall to the shuttles with Clive asking her where she was going. Jenny laughed as she climbed in the shuttle and started flipping switches. "Oh, I've got the whole universe. Planets to save, civilisations to rescue, creatures to defeat, and an awful lot of running to do."

Jenny grinned and flew off into space.


	20. Chapter 20: Rose Meets River?

**A/N:** SO SORRY. I meant to put this up last night, but our internet went kaput. So you all are confused about Rose and River/Irene? Just remember this is timey-wimey stuff. Just hang on to your seat and we'll take off!

* * *

After spending a few weeks of cheering up the Doctor by visiting history and science museums and going to the the 100th intergalactic physics convention (Where Donna fell asleep several times), they set the coordinates on random. The Doctor was telling her of the time when he and a companion (It was Rose, but he didn't really want to get into that conservation at the moment.) had done the same thing and ended up in Australia during the time when it was it was still used for prisoners. They decided to leave after Rose had been kidnapped.  
Donna was lecturing the Doctor on what would happen if that happened to her when the TARDIS landed with a thump. The Doctor hurried to the door, making agreeing noises in the pauses of Donna's speech. He smiled when he opened the door and a old manor sat in front of the TARDIS.

"Oh, smell that air. Grass and lemonade. And a little bit of mint. A hint of mint. Must be the nineteen twenties."  
Donna raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. "You can tell what year it is by smelling?"  
The Doctor grinned at her. "Yup."  
"Or maybe that big vintage car coming up the drive gave it away.", she nodded to the oncoming vehicle.  
"Maybe."  
Donna sighed and turned back into the TARDIS. "Suppose I should get change if I don't want to start a riot."  
"Donna.", he whined. "You'll take _forever_."  
"Listen here, Spaceman, I went to that physics thing for three days straight. I think you can wait for me to get dressed."  
"You agreed to go."  
"And now you're agreeing to wait. Thank you for that, by the way.", she grinned and walked down the hall.

The Doctor groaned and sat outside the TARDIS to wait. "It was a physics _convention_, not thing. And it was the centennial celebration.", he mumbled to himself.

* * *

"Good afternoon.", the Doctor greeted a young man.  
"Drinks, sir? Ma'am?"  
Donna smiled sweetly. "Sidecar, please."  
"And a lime and soda, thank you.", the Doctor added

A man named was announcing honoured guests to the party. "May I announce Lady Clemency Eddison."  
The Doctor nodded to her. "Lady Eddison."  
"Forgive me-", the elder woman spoke. "-but who exactly might you be, and what are you doing here?"  
"'m the Doctor and this is Miss Donna Noble, of the Chiswick Nobles."  
Donna dropped a curtsey. "Good afternoon, my lady. Topping day, what? Spiffing. Top hole."  
"No. No, don't do that. Don't.", he spoke through his teeth while pulling out his psychic paper, which he put in front of Lady Eddison's face, hoping that she would ignore Donna's faux pas.

"We were thrilled to receive your invitation, my lady. We met at the Ambassador's reception."  
Clemency feigned recognition. "Doctor, how could I forget you? But one must be sure with the Unicorn on the loose."  
The Doctor looked thrilled. "A unicorn? Brilliant. Where?" Donna inwardly rolled her eyes. What an dunce, she thought.  
"_The_ Unicorn. The jewel thief?", the lady reminded him. "Nobody knows who he is. He's just struck again. Snatched Lady Babbington's pearls right from under her nose."  
"Funny place to wear pearls.", Donna commented and the Doctor gave her a look.

Greeves spoke up again. "May I announce Colonel Hugh Curbishley, the Honourable Roger Curbishley." The Colonel was pushed out in a wheelchair by the younger Roger.  
Lady Eddison nodded to them. "My husband and my son."  
Colonel Hugh held out a hand to the Doctor who took it. "Forgive me for not rising. Never been the same ever since that flu epidemic back in eighteen."  
Roger smiled at Donna. "My word, you are a super lady."  
She grinned at him. "Oh, I like the cut of your jib. Chin, chin."  
The Doctor ignored her and introduced himself to Roger. "Hello. I'm the Doctor."  
"How do you do?"  
"Very well."

'_Liar'_, Donna thought.  
The bulter came up to Lady Eddison's son. "Your usual, sir?"  
Roger took his drink with a smile. "Ah. Thank you, Davenport. Just how I like it."

Donna leaned over to whisper to the Doctor. "How come she's an Eddison, but her husband and son are Curbishleys?"  
"The Eddison title descends through her. One day Roger will be a lord."

"Ah."

"Robina Redmond.", Greeves introduced a well-dressed, young woman.  
Lady Eddison turned to Donna. "She's the absolute hit of the social scene. A must." She turned to Robina excitedly. "Miss Redmond."  
"Spiffing to meet you at last, my lady. What super fun."

"Reverend Arnold Golightly.", Mr. Greeves spoke again.  
Clemency smiled at the pastor. "Ah, Reverend. How are you? I heard about the church last Thursday night. Those ruffians breaking in."  
"You apprehended them, I hear.", her husband added.  
"As the Christian Fathers taught me, we must forgive them their trespasses. Quite literally.", Arnold grinned.  
Roger shook his head. "Some of these young boys deserve a descent thrashing."  
"Couldn't agree more, sir.", the butler said.

"Typical.", Donna muttered to herself. "All the decent men are on the other bus."  
The Doctor smirked at her. "Or Time Lords."

"That's you think, Alien Boy."  
"Alien Boy? Really? You couldn't come up with anything better than that?"  
"You bring it upon yourself."

"What about this special guest you promised us?", Roger asked his mother.  
"Here she is. A lady who needs no introduction."

A women in her early thirties came into the garden, embarrassed by the applause that surrounded her. "No, no, please, don't. Thank you, Lady Eddison. Honestly, there's no need. Agatha Christie."  
"What about her?", Donna asked.  
"That's me."  
Donna gaped. "No. You're kidding."  
The Doctor was practically bouncing his feet and Donna thought his face might break from the grin her wore. "Agatha Christie. I was just talking about you the other day. I said, I bet she's brilliant. I'm the Doctor. This is Donna. Oh, I love your stuff. What a mind. You fool me every time. Well, almost every time. Well, once or twice. Well, once. But it was a good once.", he rambled.  
Agatha raised an eyebrow. "You make a rather unusual couple."  
The Doctor looked appalled, as did Donna, despite his previous joke. "Oh, no. We're not married."  
"We're not a couple.", Donna motioned between them.  
Mrs. Christe smiled. "Well, obviously not.", she nodded to Donna's hand. "No wedding ring."  
"Oh, you don't miss a trick.", the Donna approved, but Agatha ignored him and spoke to Donna.  
"I'd stay that way if I were you. The thrill is in the chase, never in the capture."

Donna smiled. "I'll keep that in mind.", she said as Lady Eddison and her family came up to the trio.

"Mrs Christie, I'm so glad you could come. I'm one of your greatest followers. I've read all six of your books. Is, er, Mister Christie not joining us?"  
"Is he needed?", Agatha asked sharply. "Can't a woman make her own way in the world?"M  
"Don't give my wife ideas.", Mr. Curbishley joked.  
"Now Mrs Christie-", Roger spoke, "I have a question. Why a Belgian detective?"  
"Belgians make such lovely buns.", she replied as if the answer was obvious.

The Doctor frowned for a moment and grabbed the Colonel's newpaper. "Excuse me, Colonel." He find the date and then pointed it out to his companion. "The date on this newspaper."  
"What about it?", Donna asked.  
"It's the day Agatha Christie disappeared."

* * *

Rose sighed and rubbed her head, leaning back in the seat in the school laboratory. It was late at night. She had been working on plans for a inter-dimension travelling machine for a while and now she was looking through history books, trying to see if there was a parallel Doctor. Maybe if there was, he would help her get back. It wasn't likely, but she may as well try. Rose looked up at the clock and wondered if the history professor, Mr. Kerridge, was still here. She had meet him once and he seemed open minded. Maybe he'd know if a parallel Doctor had been to Earth, or maybe he'd just think she was crazy. Either way, she had to try. She hopped up from her chair, grabbing her book on the way, and went towards the teacher's building.  
Rose had special clearance on the school grounds because of her job with Torchwood, so she could go almost anywhere she wanted. The kids here treated her different, because she was older and somewhat considered a hermit. The truth was that she couldn't stand their drama. She'd rather be friends with the professors and scientists who could help her.

Rose entered the building and walked up the stairs to the third floor. She didn't like taking lifts after the one time her and Doctor got stuck on one and some aliens decided they'd work well for their god's sacrifice. And there he was again. In everything that she did or said. She never loved someone like this before. Her ex-boyfriend had been gypped, she realised. Rose had only stayed with Jimmy because he promised to take care of her and her mum. Mickey was more of a brother than a boyfriend and they had never been like _that_, because of what Jimmy did. He helped her through the hard, dark time in her life and she had left him behind when the Doctor came along in her life. The Doctor had brought something that she had wished for since she was a little girl.  
Rose remembered having her mum put her bed next to the window so she could lay on it and watch the stars. She remembered burying herself in blankets and watching the star twinkle, the meteors fall, and the blinking of aeroplanes and space stations in the sky. The dreams she had when she was younger had been full of stars, too.

But Rose didn't recall the dreams of a red planet with twin suns any more. A place where the trees looked like they were on fire in the evening. Rose didn't remember the tower she dreamt of, or the never ending lonesomeness, or how her sister and friends had rushed her out. She didn't remember the power she held in mind since she was young. She didn't remembered that she didn't have a mother or the lacking empathy from her 'father'.

Rose knocked on Mr. James Kirridge's door. She heard laughing and talking and someone called for her to come in. Rose opened the door and cautiously stepped in. "Mr. Kirridge?"  
The tanned man in his late forties with greying hair looked up from his desk where he was grading papers. A pretty woman who looked around his age sat across the desk from him. Rose noticed that she looked like a girl that was in a picture on the history teacher's desk. Wrappers from a fast food restaurant sat on the desk.  
"Oh, Miss Tyler, wasn't it?"  
Rose smiled at him. "Yes, sir."  
"Don't bother with the sir nonsense. Take a seat.", he waved a hand to an empty chair next to the other woman. "This is my wife, Anna. She teaches English."

Anna offered her hand and a sincere smile to Rose. "Hello. So you're Rose Tyler, Vitex heiress?"  
Rose laughed and shook her hand. "I'm afraid so.", she said as she sat down in the chair.  
"What can I help you with, Miss Tyler?"

Rose wasn't sure if she should ask him, but it was kind of late to turn back now. "This is going to sound weird, but I was wondering if you've heard of someone in your studies as a history teacher. A man called the Doctor."  
James blinked. "The doctor? Doctor who?"  
"Just the Doctor.", she inwardly smirked.

"No, no. I don't think so. What did he do?"  
"Well, the thing is, I don't know. He's- He just sort of shows up places, but I don't know if he's been in this world yet."  
Mr. Kirridge smiled. "This world? You think he's an alien?"  
Rose sighed. "Yes, but he looks human.", she wasn't quite sure how to go about this. Maybe the whole "friend" approach would work better. "I have this friend who looking for him. She's looking to see if he's in this un- world. I'm trying to help her find him."

Mr. Kirridge sat back and looked at her. "I'm going to tell you something, Rose, since you actually believe this alien stuff."

Here it came. The spew of aliens-aren't-real-it's-childish-nonsense talk.

"I don't know of a doctor, but we do know an alien.", he nodded to his wife. "At least, we think she is. She pops in once in every six months or so. She's due in the next few weeks.  
"Maybe she can help you find him.", Anna added with a smile. "He special to you, wasn't he?"  
Rose nodded and bit her lip to hold back tears. James went back to grading his papers.  
Anna felt bad for the poor girl, she was significantly older than most of the people here, even though she didn't look like it. "I know we just met, Rose, but maybe you'd like to go to the cafeteria for fries or something?"  
Rose looked up at her. "Sure.", she laughed as she stood up. "It's still odd that Americans call them that."  
The older woman stood up and laughed with her. "We think it's odd that you call the chips.  
They walked out of the room and into the lift.

"I was surprised that you believed in aliens, Miss Tyler."

Rose chuckled. "I thought Mr. Kirridege was going to tell me that aliens aren't real."  
"You'd be surprised how many people believe in aliens and just don't admit to everyone.", Anna chuckled with her as they exited the lift.

* * *

"The plucky young girl who helps me out?", Donna sounded miffed.  
"No policewomen in 1926.", the Doctor explained.  
"I'll pluck you in a minute.", she mumbled. "Why don't we phone the real police?"  
"Well the last thing we want is PC Plod sticking his nose in, especially now I've found this.", he scraped some gunge off the floorboards. "Morphic residue."  
"Morphic? Doesn't sound very 1926."  
"It's left behind when certain species genetically re-encode."  
"The murderer's an alien?", Donna asked, not sounding a bit surprised.  
"Which means one of that lot is an alien in human form.", he mused.  
Donna chuckled. "Yeah, but think about it. There's a murder, a mystery, and Agatha Christie."  
"So? Happens to me all the time."  
"No, but isn't that a bit weird? Agatha Christie didn't walk around surrounded by murders. Not really. I mean, that's like meeting Charles Dickens and he's surrounded by ghosts at Christmas.", she laughed  
"Well."

The Doctor stopped for a moment, thinking of the first he realised he loved Rose. Not that he would've admitted it. The closest he could get to telling her was saying that he was glad that he had meet her. If only he had told her that he-

"Oh, come on! It's not like we could drive across country and find Enid Blyton having tea with Noddy. Could we? Noddy's not real." Donna paused worriedly at his silence. "Is he? Tell me there's no Noddy."  
"There's no Noddy.", the Doctor sighed and walked out of the library.  
" Next thing you know, you'll be telling me it's like _Murder On The Orient Express_, and they all did it."  
Agatha Christie was standing outside the door. "Murder on the Orient Express?"  
"Ooo, yeah.", Donna nodded. "One of your best."  
"But not yet.", the Doctor said.  
Agatha considered it thoughtfully. "Marvellous idea, though."  
"Yeah. Tell you what. Copyright Donna Noble, okay?"  
The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Anyway, Agatha and I will question the suspects. Donna, you search the bedrooms. Look for clues." He leaned in closer to whisper to Donna and hand her a magnifying glass. "Any more residue, and you'll need this."  
"Is that for real?", she asked, taking the glass.  
He sighed and pushed her towards the stairs. "Go on. You're ever so plucky." The Doctor turned towards Mrs. Christie. "Right then. Solving a murder mystery with Agatha Christie. Brilliant."  
"How like a man to have fun while there's disaster all around him.", Agatha sighed.  
"Sorry. Yeah."  
"I'll work with you gladly, but for the sake of justice, not your own amusement."  
The Doctor was a little crestfallen from being put in place. "Yeah."

* * *

Donna looked around a child's bedroom. The curtains are drawn and a teddy bear sat at the edge of the bed. "How long's it been empty?", Donna asked Greeves.

"Forty years."  
"Why would she seal if off?", she looked around the room and then shooed the other man off. "I need to investigate. You just butle off.", she closed the door behind him. She poked around the room and heard a buzzing noise.

"So, 1926, they've still got bees. What a noise. All right, busy bee, I'll let you out. Hold on, I shall find you with my amazing powers of detection."

Donna pulled back the curtain and a giant wasp appeared in the window. It broke through and she backed up against the window as it flew around the room.  
"That's impossible!"  
_'Then again',_ she thought, '_when you're travelling with the Doctor, anything is possible.'_

She used the magnifying glass to focus the bright sunlight on the giant wasp. It stunned it for a moment, which gave her a chance to run out of the room. Donna shrieked as a giant stinger rammed thought the door. "_Doctor!_" The Doctor came running with Agatha following behind. Donna pointed to the door. "It's a giant wasp!"  
"What do you mean a giant wasp?", the Doctor asked.  
"I mean- a wasp that's _giant._"  
Agatha Christie looked at her incredulously. "It's only a silly little insect."  
Donna rolled her eyes. "When I say giant, I don't mean big. I mean _bloomin' enormous_. Look at it's sting!"

"Let me see.", the Doctor said as he walked into the room. "It's gone, buzzed off."  
"But that's fascinating.", Agatha inspected the door.  
"Don't touch it. Let me-", he collected some of the gunk with a pencil from his pocket and placed it in a test tube. "Giant wasp. Well, tons of amorphous insectivorous lifeforms, but none in this galactic vector."

"I think I understood some of those words. Enough to know that you're completely potty."  
The Doctor and Donna ignored her. "Lost its sting, though. That makes it defenceless."  
"Oh, a creature this size? Got to be able to grow a new one."  
Agatha Christie looked between them like she was going to laugh. "Can we return to sanity? There are no such things as giant wasps."  
"Exactly. So, the question is, what's it doing here?"

* * *

Rose was in her dorm room studying for finals when her cellphone rang. She pulled it out of her pocket to read the caller ID.

_Anna Kerridge_

Rose smiled and answered it. In the past few weeks, she had become good friends with the Kerridges. She had even talked to Anna about how she felt about the Doctor. It tremendously helped her keep a level head now that she had someone she could really talk too. The older woman was a great friend.

"Hello?"  
"Hello, Rose. Are you up for coming over to my house? She's here."  
"Sure. I'm just studying." She pulled out a notepad and pencil. "What's your address?"  
Anna gave it to her and Rose grabbed a bag, stuffing her notebooks and some pens into it. She ran a hand through her caramel brown hair and pulled on trainers.

Half an hour later, after messing with public transports and all it's lovely setbacks, Rose made it to the Kerridge's house. The modest-sized house was warm and welcoming. It reminded Rose of her friend's house from her universe.

The blonde lady with curly hair stuck out a hand and offered Rose a smile. "Professor River Song, University of Mars."  
Rose grinned and shook her hand back. "Rose Tyler. They have a university on Mars then?"  
"Nice to meet you, Sweetie. And yes, it starts in the year 3057."

Rose froze and looked over at Anna. She hadn't mentioned time travel to her before. Anna laughed as she poured out coffee for her guests. "She says stuff like that all the time."  
Rose relaxed. "Well, that's good because the Doctor's a time traveller." River smiled at her. Her sister was infatuated with this man, even as a-  
"Why didn't you ever mention it?", Anna questioned while handing her a cup of coffee.  
Rose took the offered mug and smiled shyly. "I thought that maybe you would think I was crazy." The host shook her head while smiling.

"So,", River started conversationally, "You're looking for a man named the Doctor."  
"Yes, well, I'm trying to find his parallel, persay."  
Anna raised an eyebrow as River smiled softly at Rose. "Why his parallel?"  
"I thought maybe, if I could find him in the right time, he'd help me get back."  
"There's no Time Lords in the this universe.", River stated bluntly.  
Rose gaped. "But I didn't- I say _anything_ about Time Lords. I made it a point not too."  
The professor looked over at Anna, who nodded knowingly and left the room, while Rose looked River Song over.

"How do you know about Time Lords.", Rose asked incredulously.  
"It's complicated.", the other woman sighed.  
Rose smirked. "Isn't it always? But really, who are you?"  
"I told you, Professor River Song, University of Mars. Anything else would be spoliers."  
"How would you know about Time Lords if there isn't any in this universe?"  
River sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Your so sceptical young. Listen, I'm going to be blunt and straight to point so we can get this over with. I have a family function and a expedition to lead. I'm from the main universe, your universe." _'And your past and future-_', she added mentally. _'-but we're not going to get in _that_ complicated mess just yet_.'

"I'm not going to stay her forever, am I?", Rose asked quietly.  
"Do you want to?"  
"No, no. I mean- It's just- I've been working so hard, but I'm afraid I'll mess it up and blow up the universes.", she leaned forward and set her face in her hands.  
River sighed and placed a hand on her shoulder. "That's why you need to stop doing it yourself. Go get some help when you go home this summer. It'll go faster, trust me."  
Rose slowly raised her head and was about to say something, but then noticed a blue book on the table. It looked like the TARDIS. She quickly looked up at River. "Are you his companion?"  
The older woman gave a tiny smile. "Somewhat. Spoilers, that."  
"Oh.", she was quiet for a moment and then gave River a watery smile. "I'm glad he's not alone."  
"Let's not get sentimental. I don't have time to fool around in this universe with the stupid misalignment problem." "Misalignment?"  
"Spoilers, Sweetie."  
"Right. Is there anything else that you _can_ tell me?"  
"Like I said, get some help." Rose snickered and River shook her head in feigned annoyance. "Cor, you guys are like children. Have you gotten any readings or anything from the other universe, yet?", she asked, picking up the diary and flipping through it.  
Rose shook her head. "We've only gotten a look inside the TARDIS, but the Doctor wasn't there, just a redhead."  
River shot her head up. "Oh, you mean- You guys sent me all the way back before- Listen, Rose, it's going to take a while." She sighed. "A long while. Keep an eye out from any readings from the other universe. Have one of your team members scanning the wall twenty-four seven."  
Rose looked at her disdainfully. "Okay. How long?"  
Giving a sympathetic smile, River answered her with one word. "Spoilers."

* * *

The Doctor opened the small box Agatha and Donna had found. "Ooo. Someone came here tooled up. The sort of stuff a thief would use."  
"The Unicorn. He's here.", Agatha stated matter-a-factly.  
"The Unicorn and the wasp."

Mr. Greeves, the butler, entered with their drinks. "Your drinks, ladies. Doctor."  
"Very good, Greeves.", the Doctor took his drink as the butler left.  
"How about the science stuff. What did you find?", Donna asked.  
"Vespiform sting. Vespiforms have got hives in the Silfrax galaxy."  
Agatha shook her head. "Again, you talk like Edward Lear."  
"But for some reason, this one's behaving like a character in one of your books."  
Donna turned towards the lady writer. "Come on, Agatha. What would Miss Marple do? She'd have overheard something vital by now, because the murderer thinks she's just a harmless old lady."  
"Clever idea. Miss Marple? Who writes those?"  
"Er, copyright Donna Noble. Add it to the list."  
"_Donna_.", the Doctor said warningly.  
"Okay, so we could split the copyright."  
The Doctor shook his head. "No. Something's inhibiting my enzymes." He doubled over in pain. "Argh! I've been poisoned."  
Donna hovered over him. "What do we do? What do we do?"  
Agatha picked up his drink and sniffed it. "Bitter almonds. It's cyanide, sparkling cyanide."

Donna followed the Doctor as he staggered into the kitchen, grabbing Davenport's coats. "Ginger beer!"  
"I beg your pardon?"  
"I need ginger beer.", the Doctor started searching the kitchen.  
"The gentleman's gone mad.", exclaimed Mr. Hart as the Doctor guzzled down his ginger beer.  
"I'm an expert in poisons, Doctor, there's no cure. It's fatal.", Agatha Christie said sadly.  
"Not for me. I can stimulate the inhibited enzymes into reversal. Protein. I need protein."  
Donna pulled out a package. "Walnuts?"  
"Brilliant.", he stuffed his mouth full as the butlers and Agatha looked on, gaping. The Doctor started motioning wildly with his hands.  
Donna shook her head. "I can't understand you. How many words? One. One word." He shook his heads back and forth. "Shake. Milk shake. Milk? Milk? No, not milk? Shake, shake, shake. Cocktail shaker. What do you want, a Harvey Wallbanger?"  
"Harvey Wallbanger?", the Doctor finally spit out.  
"Well, I don't know."  
"How is Harvey Wallbanger one word?", he asked sarcastically.  
"What do you need, Doctor?", Agatha interrupted their bickering.  
"Salt. I was miming salt." Donna raised an eyebrow and started looking through the cupboards. "It's salt. I need something salty".  
"What about this?", she held up a can of salt.  
"What is it?"  
"Salt."  
"No, too salty."  
Donna rolled her eyes as Mrs. Christie came up with another container. "Oh, that's too salty."  
"What about this?", the writer asked.  
"What's that?"  
"Anchovies."

The Doctor immediately wolfed down the jar of anchovies as everyone else in the room looked queasy. He started miming to Donna again.  
"What is it? What else? It's a song? Mammy? I don't know. Camptown Races?"  
"Camptown Races?", he spluttered.  
"Well, all right then, Towering Inferno."  
"It's a shock." He took a breath. "Look, shock. I need a shock."  
Donna thought for a moment before coming up with something that would shock him. She was going to regret this and he'd never let her hear the end of it, but she could always threaten his life. Or guilt trip him. "Right then. Big shock coming up."  
She grabbed his head and kissed him long and hard. He stiffened up and stepped backwards, exhaling a golden breath. "Detox. Oh my. I must do that more often." Seeing Donna's face he took a large breath. "I mean, the detox."  
Agatha Christie looked at him like he had grown three heads. "Doctor, you are impossible. Who are you?"  
"I'm the Doctor."

* * *

"Don't hurt her.", the Doctor tried to convince the giant wasp. "You're not meant to be like this. You've got the wrong template in your mind."  
'It's not listening to you.", Donna pointed out and snatched the Firestone from Agatha. She then threw it into the lake and the wasp followed it, drowning in the water and turning it purple. "How do you kill a wasp? Drown it, just like his father."  
"Donna, that thing couldn't help itself!", he exclaimed.  
"Neither could I."

Agatha looked at the disappearing colour in the water. "Death comes as the end,and justice is served."  
"Murder at the Vicar's rage. Needs a bit of work."  
She turned to the Doctor. "Just one mystery left, Doctor. Who exactly are you?" Agatha doubled over in pain, glowing purple, and started falling to the ground. The Doctor caught her before she could. He was instantly reminded of Cassandra. "Oh, it's the Firestone. It's part of the Vespiform's mind. It's dying and it's connected to Agatha. He let her go. Right at the end, the Vespiform chose to save someone's life."  
"Is she all right, though?", Donna asked worriedly.  
"Of course. The amnesia wiped her mind of everything that happened. The wasp, the murders."  
"And us." Donna looked a little bit sad. "She'll forget about us."  
"Yeah, but we've solved another riddle. The mystery of Agatha Christie. And tomorrow morning, her car gets found by the side of a lake. A few days later, she turns up in hotel at Harrogate with no idea of what just happened." He grinned at her. "And now we know how she got there."

* * *

Outside the TARDIS, Doctor looked back at Harrogate's hotel. "No one'll ever know."  
"Lady Eddison, the Colonel, and all the staff. What about them?"  
"Shameful story. They'd never talk of it. Too British." Donna scowled at him as they entered the TARDIS. "While the Unicorn does a bunk back to London town. She can never even say she was there."  
"What happens to Agatha?"  
"Oh, great life. Met another man, married again. Saw the world. Wrote and wrote and wrote."  
Donna gave a frown. "She never thought her books were any good, though. She must have spent all those years wondering."  
"The thing is, I don't think she ever quite forgot. Great mind like that, some of the details kept bleeding through. All the stuff her imagination could use. Like Miss Marple."  
"I should have made her sign a contract.", Donna joked as the Doctor pulled a deck plate from the floor of the TARDIS and pulled out a wooden box. He started going through it until he pulled out a 1957 edition of Death in the Clouds. "And where is it? Where is it? Hold on. Here we go." A wasp decorated the cover of the paperback.  
"She did remember."  
"Somewhere in the back of her mind, it all lingered. And that's not all. Look at the copyright page.", he opened the first page and Donna read it out loud. "Facsimile edition, published in the year five billion!"  
"People never stop reading them. She is the best selling novelist of all time."  
"But she never knew."  
"Well, no one knows how they're going to be remembered. All we can do is hope for the best. Maybe that's what kept her writing." He sat thoughtfully for a moment before standing up. "Same thing keeps me travelling. Onwards?"  
Donna grinned at him. "Onwards."

* * *

**A/N:** Well, well, well. How did River get there? Let's see if we can get 65 reviews, shall we? ;)


	21. Chapter 21: The Doctor and River

**A/N: **Just over sixty reviews! Thanks guys! Now to answer some questions without giving spoilers away. Rose and River _are_ sisters, but neither the Master or Amy and Rory are their parents. ;) Maybe you'll grasp some more hints from this chapter. There's also some Rose angst and a parallel Jack.

* * *

The Doctor and Donna admired the marble staircase of the giant library.  
"The Library.", the Doctor spun around with a grin. "So big it doesn't need a name. Just a great big The."  
"It's like a city.", gaped Donna.  
"t's a world. Literally, a world. The whole core of the planet is the index computer. Biggest hard drive ever. And up here-", he pointed to all the shelves, " is every book ever written. Whole continents of Jeffrey Archer, Bridget Jones, Monty Python's Big Red Book. Brand new editions, specially printed."  
"Wait. _Monty Python's Big Red Book?_"  
The Doctor ignored her and kept walking on. "We're near the equator, so this must be biographies. I love biographies."  
Donna rolled her eyes. "Very you. Always a death at the end."  
"You need a good death.", he countered. "Without death, there'd only be comedies. Dying gives us size."  
Donna hummed in agreement and pulled out a book, which the Doctor promptly took from her.  
"Spoilers. These books are from your future. You don't want to read ahead. Spoil all the surprises. Like peeking at the end."  
She raised an eyebrow. "Isn't travelling with you one big spoiler?"  
"I try to keep you away from major plot developments." Donna didn't look impressed. "Which, to be honest, I seem to be very bad at, because- You know what? This is the biggest library in the universe. So where is everyone? It's silent."

The Doctor pointed his sonic screwdriver at an information booth.  
"It is the library?"  
"But it's a planet. The whole planet is silent."  
Donna shrugged. "Maybe it's a Sunday."  
"No, I never land on Sundays. Sundays are boring."  
"Well, maybe everyone's really, really quiet."  
"Yeah, maybe. But they'd still show up on the system."  
Donna thought for a moment and looked around. The Doctor had been acting weird all morning. Did he mean to come here on purpose? "Doctor, why are we here? Really, why?"  
"Oh, you know-", he shrugged. "-just passing."  
She sighed and shook her head. "No, seriously. It was all let's hit the beach, then suddenly we're in a library. Why?"  
The Doctor ignored her, acting very interested in the information on the screen before him. "Now that's interesting."  
"What?"  
"It's scanning for life forms. If I do a scan looking for your basic humanoids. You know, your book readers, few limbs and a face, apart from us, I get nothing. Zippo, nada." He pointed at the screen with his sonic screwdriver. "See? Nobody home. But if I widen the parameters to any kind of life-" He pressed the button on his sonic and a distinct buzzing sound rang throught the oddly quiet room. Donna looked at the screen and read the error trillion, that the lifefrom number stopped at a million. "A million. Gives up after that. A million.", he shook his head.  
Donna looked around the empty room. "But there's nothing -or anyone- here."  
"And not a sound. A million life forms, and silence in the library."  
"But there's no one here. There's just books. I mean, it's not the books, is it? I mean, it can't be the books, can it? Books can't be alive."

* * *

Donna tapped her foot after the Doctor dragged her under a light.  
"So, We weren't just in the neighbourhood.", she asked dryly.  
"Yeah, I kind of- Sort of lied a bit.", he stumbled as Donna raised a eyebrow. "I got a message on the psychic paper." He pulled the mentioned object out of his pocket and Donna read it  
_  
The Library. Come as soon as you two can. X._

"So what do you think? Cry for help?", the Doctor asked.  
"Cry for help with a kiss?", she asked incredously.  
The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Oh, we've all done that."  
She shot his a disbelieving look. "Right. Who's it from?"  
"No idea."  
"So why did we come here? Why did you-"  
The Doctor caught the lights flickering down the hall and they shut off one by one. "Donna." He grabbed her hand and pulled her along to the nearest door.  
"What's happening?"  
He tried opening the door, only to find that is was jammed shut. "Come on."  
"Is it locked?"  
"Jammed. The wood's warped.", he pointed out.  
"Well, sonic it. Use the thingy."  
The Doctor rolled his eyes at her choice of words. "I can't, it's wood."  
"What, it doesn't do wood?", she asked half frightened, half mockingly.  
"Hang on. I can vibrate the molecules, fry the bindings. I can shatterline the interface."

Donna rolled her eyes and pushed him aside as she backed up. "Oh, get out of the way." Then she ran towards the door and kicked it open. They immediately grabbed books the bar the door shut. Turning around, the Doctor noticed a machine staring at them.  
"Oh, hello. Sorry to burst on you like this. Okay if we stop here for a bit?"  
The globe dropped to the ground and Donna looked up at him. "What is it?"  
"Security camera. Switched itself off.", he pulled out his sonic screwdriver and started working on getting it opened. "Nice door skills, Donna."  
"Well, you know, boyfriends.", she shrugged. "Sometimes you need the element of surprise." Noticing his amused expression and changed the subject. "What was after us? Did we just run away from a power cut?"  
"Possibly."  
Knowing that one word answers from the Doctor weren't a good thing, Donna questioned further. "Are we safe here?"  
"Of course we're safe. There's a little shop." The panel light up on the camera. "Gotcha!" The words, _'No, no, no'_, scrolled across it. "Oh, I'm sorry. I really am. I'm so sorry. It's alive.", he explained to his companion.  
"You said it was a security camera."  
"It is. It's alive, like the TARDIS.", he flinched at comparing his beautiful ship to a security camera. More words scrolled across the screen.

_'The Library has been breached. Others are coming.'_

"Others? What's it mean, others?"

* * *

The Doctor and Donna were trying to stay in the low light in the room as a door blew open in a flash of white light. Six people, dressed in spacesuits, entered. The person in front, most likely the leader, adjusted the polarising filter on her helmet. The Doctor felt the presence of Time Sense hit him, and he threw up his mental shields so he wouldn't feel it.

"Hello, sweetie.", River greeted the Doctor and- Who was she exactly? She hadn't meet this companion yet. Nor would she ever again, she thought sadly. She realised that Rose was definitely not with him, seeing the pain in his eyes, the pain that was gone when Rose was with him. He must be really young. And by the look on his face, he didn't know who she was. River grinned at her-

"Get out.", the Doctor spoked harshly. Donna tugged on his sleeve, but he ignored her. "All of you. Turn around, get back in your rocket and fly away. Tell your grandchildren you came to the library and lived. They won't believe you."  
River ignored his warning, she knew what was coming. "Pop your helmets, everyone. We've got breathers."  
"How do you know they're not androids?", a woman asked.  
"Because I've dated androids. They're rubbish."  
An angry man's voice broke through. "Who is this? You said we were the only expedition. I paid for exclusives."  
River shrugged. "I lied, I'm always lying. Bound to be others."  
The man, Lux, sighed and turned to another figure. "Miss Evangelista, I want to see the contracts."

River stepped towards the Doctor and bent her head towards the book-barred door. "You came through the north door, yeah? How was that, much damage?"  
"Please, just leave. I'm asking you seriously and properly, just leave.", the Doctor paused for a moment and turned to the angry man. "Hang on. Did you say expedition?"  
"My expedition. I funded it."  
The Doctor turned back to River and whined. "Oh, you're not- Are you? Tell me you're not archaeologists."  
She smirked at him. "Got a problem with archaeologists?"  
"I'm a time traveller. I point and laugh at archaeologists."  
"Ah.", she grinned at him. "Professor River Song, archaeologist."  
"River Song, lovely name. As you're leaving-", the Doctor looked at her pointedly. "-and you're leaving now, you need to set up a quarantine beacon. Code wall the planet, the whole planet. Nobody comes here, not ever again. Not one living thing, not here, not ever." He noticed the other woman moving around. "Stop right there. What's your name?"  
"Anita."  
"Anita, stay out of the shadows. Not a foot, not a finger in the shadows till you're safely back in your ship.", he looked back at all of them. "Goes for all of you. Stay in the light. Find a nice, bright spot and just stand. If you understand me, look very, very scared." River raised an eyebrow and the rest of her expedition looked bored. "No, bit more scared than that." They frowned. "Okay, do for now." He turned towards a man. "You. Who are you?"  
"Er, Dave."  
"Okay, Dave."  
"Other Dave, because that's Proper Dave the pilot, he was the first Dave, so when we-"  
The Doctor swept an arm towards the door. "Other Dave, the way you came, does it look the same as before?"  
"Yeah. Oh, it's a bit darker."  
"How much darker?"  
Other Dave frowned as he squinted down the hall. "Oh, like I could see where we came through just like a moment ago. I can't now."  
"Right. Seal up this door. We'll find another way out."  
"Would you-"  
Mr. Lux interrupted their conservation. "We're not looking for a way out. Miss Evangelista?"  
The shy girl stepped forward with papers in her hand. "I'm Mister Lux's personal everything. You need to sign these contracts agreeing that your individual experience inside the library are the intellectual property of the Felman Lux Corporation."

Donna raised an eyebrow at the Doctor and he grinned.  
"Right, give it here.", he took the papers.  
"Yeah, lovely. Thanks.", Donna did the same as the both tore the contracts up, which made Lux angry.  
"My family built this library. I have rights."

River rolled her eyes. "You have a mouth that won't stop.", she turned to the Doctor. "You think there's danger here?"  
"Something came to this library and killed everything in it. Killed a whole world. Danger? Could be.", the Doctor said sarcastically.  
"That was a hundred years ago. The Library's been silent for a hundred years. Whatever came here's long dead."  
The Doctor crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. "Bet your life?"  
River grinned at him. If only he knew.  
"Always."

* * *

As River Song pulled a book out of her backpack, the Doctor mulled over the whole 'pretty boy' thing. It was ironic that his ninth self had teased Rose about her pretty boys, and then he went and regenerated into one. Not that he didn't mind. His hair _was_ pretty fantastic.

"Thanks."  
"For what?", the Doctor looked up at River through his brainy specs.  
She shrugged. "The usual. For coming when I call."  
"Oh, that was you?"  
River gave him a unsure, almost amused look. "You're doing a very good job of acting like you don't know me. I'm assuming there's a reason."  
The Doctor nodded. "A fairly good one, actually."  
"Okay, shall we do diaries, then?", she started flipping through the blue book. "Where are we this time?" River glanced up at him. "Going by your face, I'd say it's early days for you, yeah?" She stopped at a page. "Er, crash of the Byzantium. Have we done that yet?" The Doctor raised an eyebrow and she went back to the book and he leaned back on the tabled with his arms crossed. "Obviously ringing no bells. Picnic at Asgard. She loved that, you know. Have we done Asgard yet?" River looked up at him expectantly. "Obviously not. Blimey, probably before- Well, very early days. Life with time travellers. Never knew it could be such hard work." She started scrutinizing his face. "Look at you. Oh, you're young."  
He squirmed awkwardly. "I'm really not, you know."  
River shook her head. "No, but you are. Your eyes. You're younger than I've ever seen you."  
"You've seen me before, then?"  
"Lots of times. Doctor, please tell me you know who I am."  
"Who are you?"

River closed her book. He had no idea who she was. That meant that this was right after he lost Rose, but which time? She could be dealing with a extremely depressed Time Lord. There was no sign of Jack, was he back at Torchwood or in the TARDIS. A ring of a telephone broke the awkward silence.

Dave the pilot spoke up. "Sorry, that was me. Trying to get through into the security protocols. I seem to have set something off. What is that? Is that an alarm?"  
Donna came over. "Doctor, that sounds like-"  
"It is. It's a phone."

The pilot messed with the machine he was standing at. "I'm trying to call up the data core, but it's not responding. Just that noise."  
Pulling out his sonic screwdriver, the Doctor came over. "Let me try something." The screen showed denied access. "Okay, doesn't like that. Let's try something else"

A young girl, drawing on a piece of paper and sitting a library, showed up on the screen.

"Hello?", the Doctor asked.  
The girl looked up and walked over the the screen. "Hello. Are you in my television?"  
"Well, no, I'm- I'm sort of in space. Er, I was trying to call up the data core of a triple grid security processor."  
The girl looked confused. "Would you like to speak to my Dad?"  
"Dad or your Mum. That'd be lovely."  
She didn't move, but kept staring at him. "I know you. You're in my library."  
"_Your_ library?"  
"The library's never been on the television before. What have you done?"  
"Er, well, I just rerouted the interface."  
The leaned forward and starting doing something below the screen before '_Access Denied'_ showed up on the screen again.

"What happened? Who was that?", River asked.  
"I need another terminal.", the Doctor ignored her and pointed to the Other Dave. "Keep working on those lights. We need those lights!"  
River sighed and waved her hand towards them. "You heard him, people. Let there be light."

The Doctor tried sneaking a peek in River's diary, but she took it from him with a sad smile. "Sorry, you're not allowed to see inside the book. I almost wish I could, but it's against the rules."  
He raised an amused eyebrow. "What rules?"  
"Your rules."

Before he could retort or ask a question, books started flying around the room.  
"What's that? I didn't do that. Did you do that?", the Doctor looked at Dave.  
"Not me."  
The Doctor looked at the terminal screen and it read 'CAL Access Denied'.  
"What's CAL?" The bombardment stopped, only to start up again.  
"What's causing that? Is it the little girl?", ask River Song.  
"But who is the little girl? What's she got to do with this place? How does the data core work? What's the principle? What's CAL?"  
She nodded to Lux. "Ask Mister Lux."  
The Doctor turned to him. "CAL, what is it?"  
The man in question shook his head. "Sorry, you didn't sign your personal experience contracts."  
"Mister Lux. Right now, you're in more danger than you've ever been in your whole life. And you're protecting a patent?", the Doctor's Oncoming Storm peeked through a little bit.  
"Funny thing, Mister Lux, I don't want to see everyone in this room dead because some idiot thinks his pride is more important."  
River chuckled. "Then why don't you sign his contract?" She looked serious. "I didn't either. I'm getting worse than you guys."  
The Doctor ran a hand through his hair. "Okay. Let's start at the beginning. What happened here? On the actual day, a hundred years ago, what physically happened?"  
"There was a message from the Library. Just one. The lights are going out. Then the computer sealed the planet, and there was nothing for a hundred years.", River explained.  
"It's taken three generations of my family just to decode the seals and get back in.", added Mr. Lux.

Miss Evangelista tried to turn their attention to a panel that opened "Er, excuse me?"  
"Not just now.", brushed her aside.

River went on explaining. "There was one other thing in the last message-"  
"That's confidential."  
"I trust this man with my life.", she told Mister Lux and the Doctor hardened at her choice of words. This was getting weird.  
"You've only just met him."  
"No, he's only just met me.", she started messing with the machine they were standing at. "This is a data extract that came with the message-"  
The Doctor looked at the terminal screen. "Four thousand and twenty-two saved. No survivors."  
"Four thousand and twenty-two. That's the exact number of people who were in the library when the planet was sealed."  
Donna butted in on the conservation. "But how can four thousand and twenty two people have been saved if there were no survivors?"  
"That's what we're here to find out.", River answered.  
"And so far-", Mr. Lux said, "what we haven't found are any bodies."

Evangelista finally decided to check out the panel. She would show them that she wasn't incapable of doing something useful. She wondered down the dimly lit hallway and into a room where most of the free space was taken by stacks of books.

Then she crossed a shadow nd she screamed.

* * *

On Christmas Eve, thirty-seven year old Rose Tyler sat front of the transdimensional wall scanner, waiting for something, anything to come through. Sighing, she stirred her coffee and thought about her weird, disjointed life. The universe was against her, she was sure. She seemed to at a dead end in her search for the Doctor. There was nothing she could do but wait. Rose had listened to what that strange woman, River Song, had said. Her Torchwood team had been more than happy to help her rebuild the dimension cannon and help her keep watch on the dimension walls. Her mum was even encouraging her work. However, they had reached a plateau in transdimensional travelling and nothing had come through, except the occasional piece of alien technology that came through the Cardiff Rift.  
Rose took a sip of her peppermint coffee and thought about the night's events. Torchwood always had a Christmas party on Christmas Eve. It was full of delicious food, good friends, and live Christmas music. (There wasn't any alcohol because the teams needed to be ready for alien invasion. Their preferred date for taking over Earth was Christmas. And alcohol was also poisonous to some of the alien Torchwood workers.) Around eleven, someone had gotten the idea of karaoke and they had convinced Rose to sing.

"_C'mon, Rose, you've got a beautiful voice.", Gwen said, bouncing a little boy on her hip and Rhys at her side.  
Jack Harkness, the parallel version, grinned at her. "Yeah, Rosie let's hear it." _

_Rose, dressed in a dark burgandy, almost 1950s dress, looked over at her mum, who smiled and nodded. Rose smiled when looking at her mum, who was now fifty-eight. She had more wrinkles around her eyes and her blonde hair had to be dyed, but at least she was happy. Jackie had found Pete and had a son, Tony Anthony Tyler. She was a happy, content woman and had lived a happy life so far.  
Rose was thirty-seven and didn't look a day over twenty-three. People thought Rose was content with her job, a flat in Kensington, and a rich family. She had gone through eight years of school and had excelled in everything. The reality was that Rose was tired of it all and ached to be home in the TARDIS. She was on the verge of breaking, but kept it in with a very convincing smile. _

_Rose walked up to the stage as people cheered. She smiled and waved and walked over to the musicians, a pianist, a violinist, and guitarist. She knew what she would sing. For the past fifteen Christmases, a certain song had stuck out to her and usually made her cry, but she didn't care. She loved it and it made her think of the Doctor. As the violin and piano softly started to play, Rose swallowed the lump in her throat and sang with emotion, which was considerably easy._

_We're walking in the air  
We're floating in the moonlit sky_  
_The people far below are sleeping as we fly_

_We're holding very tight_  
_I'm riding in the midnight blue_  
_I'm finding I can fly so high above with you_

_Far across the world_  
_The villages go by like dreams_  
_The rivers and the hills_  
_The forest and the streams_

_Children gaze open mouthed taken by surprise_  
_Nobody down below believes their eyes_

_We're surfing in the air_  
_We're swimming in the frozen sky_  
_We're drifting over icy mountains floating by_

_Suddenly swooping low on an ocean deep_  
_Rising up a mighty monster from its sleep_

_We're walking in the air_  
_We're dancing in the midnight sky_  
_And everyone who sees us greets us as we fly_

_The song ended as softly as it began, and Rose quickly exited the stage as people started clapping. She made it outside before the tears starting falling. She shivered in the cold, wiping away her tears away, when she heard footsteps come up behind her._

_"Hey, Rosie.", Jack's voice whispered in the cold night as he draped her black jacket around her._  
_"Thanks, Jack."_  
_He just smiled at her and wiped away her tears. Jack thought he might've had a chance if Rose if it wasn't for her Doctor she spoke about, but he was glad to have her as a sister._  
_"You can cry if you need to, Rose. No use being human if you can't show emotions once in a while."_  
_Rose nodded quietly and laid her head on Jack's shoulders, letting warm tears trickle down her face._

A beeping emitted from the machine, causing Rose to break out of her reverie. She hummed as she got up to check it, fully expecting to see that something that had fallen to the rift, but it wasn't. Rose gaped as she started reading the message that had not been intercepted, but had been sent to them.

_It was in Gallifreyan. _

It was from the other universe! Rose squealed jumped up from her chair and started typing in a command to save it. She frowned when she realised that it was all in Gallifreyan, so she couldn't read it. Line after line scrolled down the screen and she smiled nostalgically at it. Then numbers and instructions in English started going down the screen. Rose gaped once again and started reading them. It was instructions on how to cross the Void. The Doctor would never send these to her, she realised. He would be to worried about the universes imploding. Who would send this? Her endless questions were answered when the last line showed up.

_Do not fear, Bad Wolf, for we shall meet again._

* * *

The Doctor lead the worried group down the hall and into the room filled with books, stopping in front of a skeleton.  
"Everybody, careful. Stay in the light."  
"You keep saying that. I don't see the point.", Dave grumbled.  
"Who screamed?"  
"Miss Evangelista."  
"Where is she?", asked the Doctor.  
River used her comm unit to reach the girl. "Miss Evangelista, please state your current position." Her voice echoed from the skelton and River walked over and revealed the comm. "It's her. It's Miss Evangelista.", she whispered.  
Anita gasped. "We heard her scream a few seconds ago. What could do that to a person in a few seconds?"  
"It took a lot less than a few seconds.", the Doctor said gravely.  
"What did?"

Evangelista's voice echoed around them. _"Hello?"_  
"Er, I'm sorry, everyone. This isn't going to be pleasant.", River warned. "She's ghosting."  
"She's what?", Donna asked.  
_"Hello? Excuse me. I'm sorry. Hello? Excuse me."_  
"That's- That's her, that's Miss Evangelista.", Donna stammered.  
"I don't want to sound horrible, but couldn't we just, you know?", Dave gulped.  
River glared at him. "This is her last moment. No, we can't. A little respect, thank you."  
_"Sorry, where am I? Excuse me?"_  
"But that's Miss Evangelista.", Donna pointed at the skeleton-in-suit.  
"It's a data ghost. She'll be gone in a moment.", River said sadly. "Miss Evangelista, you're fine. Just relax. We'll be with you presently."  
"What's a data ghost?"  
The Doctor wasn't fazed. "There's a neural relay in the communicator. Lets you send thought mail. That's it there. Those green lights. Sometimes it can hold an impression of a living consciousness for a short time after death. Like an afterimage."  
Anita looked down. "My grandfather lasted a day. Kept talking about his shoelaces."  
"She's in there.", Donna insisted.  
_"I can't see. I can't. Where am I?"_  
Dave shook his head. "She's just brain waves now. The pattern won't hold for long."  
"But, she's conscious.", Donna choked up. "She's thinking."  
_"I can't see, I can't- I don't know what I'm thinking."_  
"She's a footprint on the beach and the tide's coming in.", the Doctor said sadly.  
_"Where's that woman? The nice woman. Is she there?"_  
Mr. Lux looked around confused. "What woman?"  
Donna spoke up. "She means- I think she means me."  
_"Is she there? The nice woman?"_  
"Yes, she's here. Hang on.", River pushed Donna forward. "Go ahead. She can hear you."  
_"Hello? Are you there?"_  
"Help her.", the Doctor nudged her forward.

_"Hello? Is that the nice woman?"_  
"Yeah. Hello. Yeah, I'm-", Donna swallowed and thought about what to say. "I'm here. You okay?"  
_"What I said before, about being stupid. Don't tell the others, they'll only laugh."_  
"Course I won't. Course I won't tell them." The other people in the room shifted nervously.  
_"Don't tell the others, they'll only laugh."_  
"I won't tell them. I said I won't.", Donna reassured her.  
_"Don't tell the others, they'll only laugh."_  
"I'm not going to tell them." The green lights on her helmet started blinking.  
_"Don't tell the others, they'll only laugh."_  
"She's looping now. The pattern's degrading.", River explained.  
_"I can't think. I don't know, I- I scream. Ice cream. Ice cream. Ice cream. Ice cream."_  
"Does anybody mind if I?", River motioned. Silent shaking of their heads was all she needed.

* * *

River walked up next to Donna, who was still unsettles by Miss Evangelistia's sudden death.  
"You travel with him, don't you? The Doctor, you travel with him."  
"What of it? You know him, don't you?", Donna asked suspicously.  
"Oh, do I know that man. We go way back, that man, my sister, and I. Just not this far back."  
"I'm sorry, what?"  
River sighed sadly. "He hasn't met me yet. I sent him and her a message, but it went wrong. It arrived too early. This is the Doctor in the days before he knew me. And he looks at me, I can see that's she's still gone. I can feel his pain and loneliness and it kills me."  
"What are you talking about? Are you just talking rubbish? Do you know him or don't you?", Donna asked louder.  
"Donna! Quiet, I'm working.", the Doctor interrupted, slightly annoyed.  
"Sorry."

River grinned at her. "Donna. You're Donna. Donna Noble."  
"Yeah. Why?"  
"I do know the Doctor, but in the future. I know his personal future."  
"So why don't you know me? Where am I in the future?", Donna asked quietly.  
River pressed her lips together, not knowing what to say, and the Doctor broke the awkward silence.  
"Okay, got a live one. That's not darkness down those tunnels. This is not a shadow. It's a swarm. A man eating swarm." He grabbed the chicken leg and threw it into the shadow. Before it even hit the floor, the meat was gone and only bone was left. "The piranhas of the air. The Vashta Nerada. Literally, the shadows that melt the flesh. Most planets have them, but usually in small clusters. I've never seen an infestation on this scale, or this aggressive."  
Donna looked up at him. "What do you mean, most planets? Not Earth?"  
The Doctor nodded in affirmation. "Earth, and a billion other worlds. Where there's meat, there's Vashta Nerada. You can see them sometimes, if you look. The dust in sunbeams."  
"If they were on Earth, we'd know."  
"Nah. Normally they live on road kill. But sometimes people go missing. Not everyone comes back out of the dark."  
Donna breathed in quietly and River looked at the Doctor, disbelieving. "Every shadow?"  
"No, but any shadow."  
"So what do we do?"  
"Daleks, aim for the eyestalk. Sontarans, back of the neck. Vashta Nerada? Run. Just run."

* * *

**A/N: **River _is not_ Melody Pond. (That should throw you for a loop.)


	22. Chapter 22: Beginning of a Decade

**A/N:** I'M SO SORRY. Life has been undeniably busy the past week. I repeat, River is Rose's sister. And the Doctor is, well, you figure it out. ;)

* * *

"Who turned out the lights? Hey, who turned out the lights?"

The Doctor clawed at Dave's fingers that were around his throat. Death by zombie wasn't really the Doctor's preferred method of regenerating. It really wouldn't be the first time he was threatened by zombies, he thought sadly, thinking of the Christmas with Charles Dickens. He dropped to the floor as River raised her, or more technically, _his_ sonic screwdriver and set him free.

"Back from it! Get back. Right back.", the Doctor instructed the group as Zombie Dave slowly came for them.  
"Doesn't move very fast, does it?", River commented.  
"It's a swarm in a suit, but it's learning."  
Mr. Lux was getting worried while Dave's shadows increased. "What do we do? Where do we go?"  
"See that wall behind you?", River motioned backwards and raised her squareness gun, "Duck."  
"Squareness gun?", the Doctor asked as they rushed to the hole in the wall.  
"Thanks to our favourite captain. Now everybody out. Move it!"

They stopped in a room filled with books after losing Dave. As the Doctor fiddled with his sonic screwdriver, River came up with a questioning look.  
"Trying to boost the power. Light doesn't stop them, but it slows them down.", he explained.  
"So, what's the plan? Do we have a plan?", River asked, but he didn't answer. He was staring intently at the sonic in her hand.  
"Your screwdriver looks exactly like mine."  
River smirked at him. "Yeah. You gave it to me."  
"I don't give my screwdriver to anyone."  
"I'm not just anyone."  
"Who are you?"  
"I told you, Professor River Song. Now what's the plan?"  
The Doctor sighed as went back to fiddling with his sonic screwdriver. "I teleported Donna back to the TARDIS. If I don't get back there in under five hours, emergency program one will activate."  
"Take her home. Yeah, heard of that one. We need to get a shift on."  
"She's not there. I should have received a signal. The console signals me if there's a teleport breach.", he said exasperated.  
"Well, maybe the coordinates have slipped.", River shrugged, "The equipment here's ancient."

The Doctor hummed in agreement as he walked over to a Node, to talk to it.  
"Donna Noble. There's a Donna Noble somewhere in this library. Do you have the software to locate her position?", he asked the Node.  
It changed it face into Donna's face and spoke. "Donna Noble has left the library. Donna Noble has been saved.", it repeated.  
"Donna?", the Doctor gaped at the Node.  
"How can it be Donna? How's that possible?", River Song questioned.

The Node kept repeating itself as Zombie Dave showed up. The Doctor kept staring at the Node as River tugged at his sleeve. "Doctor, we've got to go now!" They started running, along with Mr. Lux, other Dave and Anita, but were finally trapped in between the shadows with no way out.

Childrens' irrational fear no longer seemed silly.

* * *

"_I am the Bad Wolf. I move the words in time and space. Leaving a message to lead my way here." _

_The squeeze of her fist left a gaping hole in her heart. She had to end them. It was the only way to stop the Time War, the horrible monstrosity that caused the deaths of so many people. She had to end it, but it hurt. She, Caltha,or Rose, would have to commit genocide to save the universe._

_"I can see everything. What was, what is, what could be. Why does it burn?"_

_It was burning through her head, slowly changing everything back normal. Everything was there, swirling around and unable to settle in their rightful place. Timelines whirled around and she saw all possible outcomes. The one __and only one that would work would cause her Doctor to die. She would be the death him. He joked about it once or twice, but now it would really happen. A tear rolled down her cheek as he grasped her arms. She could barely stand as he leaned in to whisper to her. Nothing that she could do could stop him. Without actually opening the watch where her conscience was contained, this human body couldn't hold her mind. _

"_I think you need a Doctor."_

_The kiss was one of love coupled with raw fear and death. Dark, stormy, almost-black blue meet with the shimmering gold, and if they were ever to converge, the universe would shudder in awe of their power._

The recesses of her mind were endless, the Doctor realised. Had it always been this way? It stretched as far as his mind could see. She saw the universe and everything in it, all at the same time, and it was clear. She was connected to the Vortex, and it was changing her.  
The Doctor stopped her transformation, which was a good thing, but slowly killed himself in the process. This human body of hers, nor his half Time Lord half human one, would be able to hold the Time Vortex. Her mind would hide his memories of this telepathic encounter until she could open them again one day, if the universe allowed.

_As she slowly lost consciousness, but Rose realised one thing. She had killed the Doctor. She committed genocide twice. First the Daleks and now the Time Lords. Yes, he could regenerate, but that didn't change anything. She knowingly killed the Doctor, and that fact burned in her mind and twisted her insides. _

_Then she slipped into a peaceful black._

Startled, Rose woke up gasping and sat up in bed with tears running down her cheeks. She raised her hand to wipe the tears, but held her head instead. She had a massive headache. The hand moved from her forehead to her mouth as she tried to stifle the sobs that echoed in the dark bedroom.

She had killed the Doctor.

Why didn't he tell her? Was that the reason he pushed her away? Did he even want her back? Rose would find out when she saw him, she supposed.

Rose laid back on the pillow, taking death breaths to control her tears. Dreams came to her every night now, varying between reunions with the Doctor, which she labelled daydreams, and things that actually had happened, which she labelled nightmares. (And nightmares they were. Rose Tyler, Defender of the Earth, had seen more than her fair share of scary.)  
Sometimes, or more accurately, once in a great long while, her dreams were pleasant. Most of the time, however, her dreams were nightmares. On the worst nights, everything mixed together. Bloodthirsty aliens, Daleks, Jimmy Stones, being pulled from the Doctor, the end of the world, her mum's sometimes abusive boyfriends from when she was younger, and being possessed by Cassandra for the rest of her life.  
The list went on in greater detail, Rose mentally acknowledged as she rolled over to see the time on her alarm clock. It was acceptably late enough to get out of bed and head over to Torchwood. Going to universities had caused her paperwork to pile up, but at least she was done with school forever.

Forever.

She chuckled darkly to herself at her use of that word. How naïve she had been. Just a stupid ape who didn't know how cruel the universe could be. She knew now, and better yet, she was prepared.

* * *

Everyone in the room winced when the chicken bone fell clean to the ground.  
"Okay, we've got a hot one. Watch your feet.", River warned.  
The Doctor shook his head. "They won't attack until there's enough of them, but they've got our scent now. They're coming."  
"Oh, yeah, who is he?", Other Dave asked River sarcastically as the Doctor went back to scanning shadows, "You haven't even told us. You just expect us to trust him?"  
"He's the Doctor."  
"And who is the Doctor?", asked Mr. Lux.  
River snorted. "The only story you'll ever tell, if you survive him."  
Anita glanced over at the Doctor, who was still sonicing shadows. "You say he's your friend, but he doesn't even know who you are."  
The professor sighed. "Listen, all you need to know is this. I'd trust that man to the end of the universe. And we've practically been there."  
"He doesn't act like he trusts you."  
"Yeah. There's a tiny problem. He hasn't met me yet."

Her archaeology group raised an eyebrow as River walked over to the Doctor. "So what's wrong with it?"  
"There's a signal coming from somewhere, interfering with it.", the Doctor fiddled with his screwdriver, his face scrunched up.  
"Then use the red settings."  
"It doesn't have a red setting."  
River shrugged. "Well, use the dampers."  
"It doesn't have dampers.", he pointed out.  
She grinned and handed him her screwdriver. "Really? I knew you didn't make them and now I have proof."

The Doctor raised a questioning eyebrow and took the screwdriver from her hands. "So, some time in the future, I just give you my screwdriver."  
"Well, sort of. You had to be there."  
"Why would I do that?", he asked in a threatening tone.  
"I didn't pluck it from your cold dead hands, if that's what you're worried about.", she assured him.  
"And I know that because-"  
River sighed and shook her head, "Listen to me. You've lost your friend. You're angry and I understand. But you need to be less emotional right now, Doctor."  
"Less emotional?", he scoffed, "I'm not emotional."

She rolled her eyes and ignored him. "There are five people in this room still alive. Focus on that. Good Grief, you're hard work young."  
"Young?", the Doctor looked her over, "Who are you?"

"Oh, for heaven's sake!", Mr. Lux cried out, "Look at the pair of you. We're all going to die right here, and you're just squabbling like an old married couple."

River sighed. Great. This was going to be slightly awkward. Her sister had said that if she told the Doctor his name, that he would trust her. But Gallifreyians only told their true names to their soul-mate. Rose knew this, of course, but sometimes the Doctor was bloody stubborn and they couldn't have time be erased or rewritten. He was going to think that River was his future wife, which was going to be weird, knowing that he was still pining after Rose. He couldn't know that she was coming back, it was too risky. Time can be rewritten in a blink of an eye with one wrong word and a grief stricken Time Lord was the perfect candidate to do that.

"Doctor, one day I'm going to be someone that you trust completely, but I can't wait for you to find that out. So I'm going to prove it to you. And I know what your going to think and I'm sorry. I'm really very sorry."

She leaned over to his ear to whisper the secret name that he had whispered to only one person, or will whisper to one person.

River stepped back and eyed his gaping face. "Are we good, Doctor?"  
He stared at her and his hearts broke and mended at the same time. He would get over Rose eventually, and that hurt, because he didn't think he could that. "Yeah-", the Doctor swallowed and looked a different direction,"-we're good."  
"Good."

* * *

Donna sent Josh and Ella to play on the playground as she sat next the woman at the bench. A veil covered her face as she looked down at her hands.  
" I got your note last night.", Donna sighed. "The world is wrong. What's that mean?"  
The woman looked up at her. "No, you didn't."  
"I'm sorry, what?", Donna gave a half-hearted, disbelieving laugh.  
Shaking her head, the woman went on to explain. "You didn't get my note last night. You got it a few seconds ago. Having decided to come, you suddenly found yourself arriving. That is how time progresses here, in the manner of a dream. You've suspected that before, haven't you, Donna Noble?"  
"How do you know me?", Donna asked defensively.

"We met before, in the library.", the girl said sadly, "You were kind to me. I hope now to return that kindness."  
"Your voice. I recognise it."  
"Yes, you do. I am what is left of Miss Evangelista."

Donna's could feel her heartbeat quicken. Everything she had known could be taken away in a instant. Her home, Lee, and her two children would be gone. A sense of dread fell in the pit of her stomach.

"I suggested we meet here because a playground is the easiest place to see it. To see the lie."  
"What lie?", Donna asked.  
"The children. Look at the children.", Miss Evangelista commanded, but Donna ignored her.  
"Why do you wear that veil? If I had a face like yours, I wouldn't hide it."  
"You remember my face, then? The memories are all still there. The library, the Doctor, me. You've just been programmed not to look."  
Donna shook her head. "Sorry, but you're dead."  
"In a way, we're all dead here, Donna. We are the dead of the library.", she frowned.  
"Well, what about the children?", Donna waved a hand to the playground, "The children aren't dead. My children aren't dead."  
"Your children were never alive."  
Donna stood up and yelled at her. "Don't you say that! Don't you dare say that about my children!"  
"Look at your children. Look at all of them, really look.", the girl said sadly.

Donna looked over at the playground. All the children were Joshua and Ella.

"They're not real. Do you see it now? They're all the same. All the children of this world, the same boy and the same girl, over and over again."  
Donna shook her head and felt tears splatter on her face. "Stop it. Just stop it. Why are you doing this? Why are you wearing that veil?"

Donna reached over and pulled the veil back to reveal Miss Evangelista's face. It was distorted and stretched until it looked horrendous. They both screamed.

* * *

Rose disdainfully looked back at the landline with it's annoying little red light. Someone was calling her. _Again._ Sighing, she picked it up. It was almost lunchtime, couldn't people just wait till later?

"Commander Tyler speaking?"  
"Tyler, is it?", the voice joked and Rose smiled. "It's Jack. We finally have those reports you requested a week ago. You were right about the stars leaving. They're going at a slower pace, but the labs down here think that it's going to pick up."  
She rubbed her head with her hand. Just lovely. Not only had she lost the life with the Doctor, but now she couldn't even look at a fake replica of them either, she thought sarcastically. Of course, that wasn't the real problem. How was this going to be fixed?  
"Rose?"  
"I'm still here."  
"Another thing, we looked at the reports of the walls last night. They're weakening again. There's no sign of the Dalek's or Cybermen, but still-", his voice fell off. "What should we do?"

* * *

The biggest fear of children all across the universe is the dark. Not necessarily the dark itself, but what is inside of it. Mr. Lux made a mental note to never tease someone about being scared of the dark again.

"You know-",River chuckled, "-it's funny. I keep wishing the Doctor was here."  
Anita gave her a confused look. "The Doctor is here, isn't he?"  
River sighed. "You know when you see a photograph of someone you know, but it's from years before you knew them? It's like they're not quite finished. They're not done yet. The Doctor _is_ here. He came when I called, just like they always do. But not my Doctor, persay. I've seen whole armies turn and run away, especially when my sister's involved.", River smirked, "And then he just swaggers off back to the TARDIS and opens the doors with a snap of his fingers. The Doctor, the Wolf, and the TARDIS. Next stop, everywhere."

The Doctor's head swung up at the mention of 'Wolf' as he came through the doorway. Those two words, Bad Wolf, still haunted him wherever he went, whatever he did. They were always there. "Spoilers. Nobody can open a TARDIS by snapping their fingers. It doesn't work like that."  
River raised an eyebrow and smirked. "It does for the Doctor. Maybe you just don't treat her right."  
"I am the Doctor.", he grumbled, going back to his work.  
She smiled softly at him. It was wonder how Rose put up with him when he was younger. "Yeah, maybe when you grow up."  
The Doctor ignored her. "How are you doing?"  
"Where's Other Dave?"  
The Doctor frowned and shook his head. "Not coming. Sorry."  
"Well, if they've taken him, why haven't they gotten me yet?", Anita asked.  
"I don't know. Maybe tinting your visor's making a difference." They noticed her two shadows. "It's making a difference all right.", she said sarcastically. "No one's ever going to see my face again."  
"Can I get you anything?", he asked sadly.  
"An old age would be nice. Anything you can do?"  
"I'm all over it."  
"Doctor, when we first met you, you didn't trust Professor Song. And then she whispered a word in your ear, and you did.", she sighed and took a breath. "I could do with a word like that. What did she say? Give a dead girl a break. Your secrets are safe with me."  
"Safe.", he murmured.  
"What?"  
"Safe. You don't say saved. Nobody says saved. You say safe. The data fragment! What did it say?", the Doctor turned to Mr. Lux.  
"Four-thousand and twenty-two people saved. No survivors.", Mr. Lux repeated the facts back.  
River glanced up. "Doctor?"  
He gave them a manic grin. "Nobody says saved. Nutters say saved. You say safe. You see, it didn't mean safe. It literally meant, saved!"

* * *

Donna smiled at her children as she tucked them into their beds.  
"That was lovely, wasn't it? That was a lovely bedtime. We had warm milk and we watched cartoons, and then Mummy read you a lovely bedtime story."  
Ella looked up at her mother sadly. "Mummy, Joshua and me, we're not real, are we?"  
frowned and shook her head. "She Of course you're real. You're as real as anything. Why do you say that?"  
Joshua sat up in bed. "But, Mummy, sometimes, when you're not here, it's like we're not here."  
"Even when you close your eyes, we just stop.", Ella added.  
Donna squeezed their hands one last time and a tendril of doubt crept in her heart. "Well, Mummy promises to never close her eyes again." The dark feeling in the pit of her core grew as her children disappeared from her eyes.

"No! Please! No, please! No! No, no! No, no!", Donna sobbed as she clutched the blankets where her children had been sitting a few seconds before.

* * *

Punching the Doctor was one thing River had wanted to do since she found out everything he had put her sister through, but quite honestly, these weren't the circumstances she was looking for. She dragged him up to a copper pipe and pulled out handcuffs from her pocket. Maybe Stormcage wasn't such a waste after all.

The Doctor woke up as she sat in the chair twisting wires together. "Oh, no, no, no. Come on, what are you doing? That's my job."  
River gave him a crooked grin. "Oh, and I'm not allowed to have a career, I suppose?"  
The Doctor tried to get up, but then noticed his bond state. "Why am I handcuffed? Why do you even have handcuffs?", he stared at her.  
"Spoilers."  
He turned on his Oncoming Storm. "This is not a joke. Stop this now. This is going to kill you! I'd have a chance, but you don't have any."  
She stared back at him. "You wouldn't have a chance, and neither do I. I'm timing it for the end of the countdown. There'll be a blip in the command flow. That way it should improve our chances of a clean download."  
He felt his hearts clench. This was his future wife,and she was going to die. He'd be alone again. Something that he couldn't stand. "River, please. No."  
River ignored his pleas and went on rambling as she spoke. "Funny thing is, this means you've always known how I was going to die, or maybe she knew. All the time we've been together, you knew I was coming here. The last time I saw you- The real you- The future you, I mean. You two turned up on my doorstep. You had new pinstripes, she had a baby bump. Good look on her, mind you.", she winked. "We went to Darillium to see the Singing Towers. What a night that was. The Towers sang, and you held her as she cried. You wouldn't tell me why, but I suppose you knew it was time. My time to come to the library. She even gave me your screwdriver. That should have been a clue, I suppose."

He tried reaching for his sonic screwdriver.

"There's nothing you can do.", River said sadly.  
"You can let me do this."  
"If you die here, it'll change everything. All the things you did."  
"Time can be rewritten.", he said forcefully.  
She shook her head. "Not those times. Not one line. Don't you dare." She noticed the few tears falling down his face. "It's okay. It's okay. It's not over for you. Think of all the things you have left to do. You'll even see her again, you know. You've got all of that to come. You and her, time and space. Watch you two run.", she gave him a watery smile.  
"But you know my name! You whispered my name in my ear. There's only one reason I would ever tell anyone my name. There's only one time I could-" The countdown of the computer echoed in his ears as his voice died down.  
"Never said you told me, love. There's just one thing you have to know. Probably shouldn't tell you, but she begged for you to know. Two words. I'm sure you know what they are."  
He shook his head.  
"Bad Wolf." He opened his mouth to question her, but she cut him off as the timer ended. "Hush, now. Spoilers."

As River joined the two power cables, a blinding flash of light ensued, and the Doctor was meet with a broken heart, confused mind, and empty space.

* * *

"Any luck?", the Doctor asked Donna as she came walking away from the teleport station.  
Donna shook her head sadly. "There wasn't even anyone called Lee in the library that day. I suppose he could have had a different name out here, but let's be honest, he wasn't real, was he?"  
"Maybe not."  
She gave a half-hearted chuckle. "I made up the perfect man. Gorgeous, adores me, and hardly able to speak a word. What's that say about me?"  
"Everything.", he noticed her offended look, "Sorry, did I say everything? I meant to say nothing. I was aiming for nothing. I accidentally said everything."

Donna sighed. "What about you? Are you all right?", she looked up at him.  
"I'm always all right."  
"Is all right special Time Lord code for really not all right at all?"  
"Why?"  
"Because I'm all right, too."  
The Doctor looked down at her sadly and took her hand. "Come on."

They didn't noticed the stuttering man as the made their way to the staircase.

"Your friend, Professor Song. She knew you in the future, but she didn't know me. What happens to me? Because when she heard my name, the way she looked at me."  
The Doctor laid down the blue book. "Donna, this is her diary. My future. I could look you up. What do you think? Shall we peek at the end?"  
Donna looked from him, back to the book. "Spoilers, right?"  
"Right.", he agreed as he set the sonic screwdriver on the diary. It was his rules after all. "Come on. The next chapter's this way."

As they made it to the top of the stairs, the Doctor whirled around in realisation and ran back down to pick up the sonic. "Why? Why would I give her my screwdriver? Why would I do that? Thing is, future me had years to think about it, all those years to think of a way to save her, and what he did was give her a screwdriver. Why would I do that?" He opened the side to revealed two green lights. Neural Relay. Very Spock, is what Rose would say with the special grin of hers. "Oh! Oh, look at that. I'm very good!"  
"What have you done?", Donna asked.  
The Doctor grinned. "Saved her."

* * *

Rose nervously walked on the stage. She was totally fine with being a guiena pig for the dimension cannon. In fact, she was thrilled. Telling everyone else her story however, was a different story, so to speak.

"Right, so I'm Rose Tyler, adopted by Pete Tyler. I'm volunteering for project Star." Murmured rippled through the crowd. "Contrary to popular belief, I was born on planet Earth."  
'_And where I _died.', she mentally added.  
"For the first nineteen years of my life, nothing happened. Nothing at all. Not ever. And then I met a man called the Doctor. He's an alien, a man who could change his face. He took me away from home in a, uh, magical machine. He showed me the whole of time and space. I thought it would never end." She stopped to take a shuddering breath, "Or at least, that's what I thought. But then came the army of ghosts and Torchwood and the War." The first drops started to appear. "That's when it all ended, the story of how I died."

She went on to explain the Battle of Canary Warf. Many were skeptical, but most people here were open-minded and accepted her story. Most even sympathised. In the end, they agreed to help her find the Doctor. She absolutely floored.

Rose Tyler would begin a deadly search that would last nearly a decade and would end in heartache, but it was worth it.

* * *

The TARDIS opened up at the snap of his fingers.

The TARDIS was connected to the Time Vortex after all. She knew Time inside, outside, backwards, and forwards. Sometime in the future, this feature would be added on.

Donna waited silently as the Doctor turned around and snapped again, causing the doors to shut.

"Right, then.", he turned to meet her with a smile that didn't quite meet his eyes. "I believe a little R and R is order."  
Donna hummed in agreement as he programmed the TARDIS and told her about a planet made of diamonds. She couldn't help but think of her little family. She loved Lee, and he had loved her. Their children were prefect and were the highlight of her life. Maybe, just maybe, she'd find them again one day.

* * *

**A/N:** Rose Tyler is not a Time Lady, nor will ever be in this story. And you guys will never guess who her and River's parents are. Never.


	23. Chapter 23: Co-workers and Vistors

**A/N:** Some of your probably think I'm dead. I'm not. I've spent my Spring break working with my family on our farm. Someone _may_ have touched on who their parents are. _Maybe. _I'm not saying anything more about their parents. Spoliers, children. Spoilers.

**A/N2:** Sorry. Some words are mixed, doubled, or totally missing, but I'm fixing them. Never write and try to hold a decent conservation at the same time.

* * *

_Two years later, or barely 2013 in the Doctor's universe, but ten years later, around 2033 in Pete's World, about three in the morning..._

Rose Tyler, aged forty-six, almost forty-seven, kicked her Torchwood desk as hard as possible. Even though it probably was going to bruise her toe, somehow it helped.

"Twenty-five years, Jack! Twenty-five bloody years! Shouldn't I get a medal or something?", Rose slumped as she sat down in her chair and Owen tended to her various scrapes and wounds that came from running around in other universes and alternate realities.

Parallel Jack Harkness, looking good for being a father of five, shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe a watch, sweetheart.", he laid a hand on her shoulder as she winced. "Don't worry, you'll find this Doctor of yours. And trust me, once you do he won't want to get rid of you.", Jack grinned at her. Rose simply sighed and groaned as Owen prodded at her shoulder.

"If you stay in one piece, that is.", added Owen. "You need to take better care of yourself out there, Rose."  
"You know I heal up pretty quickly, Owen. What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger."  
"Or just slowly kills you."  
She sighed. "I found a reality he was in this time. He was dead."

Jack gave a soft squeeze on her opposite shoulder. "It wasn't the right one then.", he paused for a second. "What happened?"

* * *

_Rose walked along the pavement of a thankfully zeppelin-free London. The first one she'd been too, in fact. She'd been to lots of places and times. World War I on an Earth plagued with homicidal aliens where she had meet another Jack, the middle of a civil war on a desert planet, and one time in a zoo exhibit on what looked like Mars. One time she had even ended up materialising in the middle of a circus, or at least that's what it looked like. Apparently it was a festival for this planets gods and it so happened that she looked like their goddess. It was nice being treated like a queen, but Rose was pretty sure she shouldn't go back there after disappearing in the middle of a feast._

_She walked out of an alley and noticed a crowd in front of her. Rose scanned the crowd to see the source of all the commotion. That's when she noticed a white stretcher being carried by several paramedics. A brown, pinstriped arm fell out from beneath the sheet, dripping wet. Rose's stomach clenched in a knot. She noticed a familiar face. In fact, it looked like Donna Harkness from her world. She ran to catch up with her. Maybe she knew if it was the Doctor or not._

_"What happened? What did they find? I'm sorry, did they find someone?", Rose asked breathlessly.  
Donna gave the stranger a confused look and shook her head. "I don't know. A bloke called the Doctor or something."  
Rose swallowed the lump in her throat. "Well, where is he?"  
"They took him away. He's dead." Donna noticed the blonde's girl shuddering breath as she pushed the shoulder length hair out of her face. "I'm sorry, did you know him? I mean- They didn't say his name. Could be any doctor."  
"I came so far.", she whispered and wiped a salty tear away.  
"It could be anyone.", Donna tried to console her.  
"What's your name?"  
"Donna. And you?"  
_

_This Donna didn't know her, which meant she didn't know Jack, and she didn't know the Doctor. This was one weird alternate reality. Right then, Rose also noticed something on her back. Something that she hadn't seen before. Just looking at it made her head hurt for some reason. Focusing on it made something in the back of her head sting. She shook her head, remembering that Donna had asked a question._

"_Oh, I was just passing by. I shouldn't even be here actually. This is wrong. This is so wrong. Sorry, what was it? Donna what?"  
"Why do you keep looking at my back?", the redhead asked suspiciously.  
"I'm not.", Rose lied, keeping her eyes glued to Donna's face.  
"Yes, you are. You keep looking behind me. You're doing it now. What is it? What's there? Did someone put something on my back?"_

_While Donna tried to look over her shoulder, Rose took the chance to run off and press the button on the dimension cannon on her wrist. Luckily, it had been an hour and it was recharged. She winced as she felt her body being pulled apart and put back together while everything burned gold. She toppled over as came back again and landed on her shoulder. She laid there for a moment, clutching her head, before Owen, Gwen, and Jack came running over._

* * *

Several weeks of travelling back and forth between dimensions, Rose had gotten to know Donna very well and had even saved her life on a few instances. It was weird though. Rose never really saw the same person twice or ever saw herself. It was like she didn't exist anywhere else.  
There was something strange about Donna. Time seemed to slowly bend around her and it seemed to be because of that bug on her back. Rose had convinced the Project Star team not to bring her back for six months. Time ran differently in the universes and she needed time to fix the thing on Donna's back. Somehow Rose knew that it wasn't supposed to be there. Something was wrong with it. Time was in flux around Donna Noble, and that wasn't a good thing.

"Are you sure about this, Rose? You know your mother isn't happy about this.", Rhys asked as he fiddled with the screen on a huge machine.  
"Mum has Pete and Tony with her. Besides, I'll be back in six months. I've been gone longer than that before."

"What if we can't get you back and you're stuck in the wrong universe?", Jack spoke up.  
Rose rolled her eyes. "We've gone over this, guys. I have plans in my backpack here in case that happens. I'll modify the dimension cannon so I can get back." Rose turned back to Rhys. "You have coordinates from last time, right?"  
"Yep. Locked in and ready to go, Commander."

Rose gave her team the best Rose Tyler grin she could muster. "See you in six months, guys."

Gwen, who looked like her older sister, gave her a quick hug. "Take care of yourself out there, Rose."  
"Yes, ma'am."

And then in a flash of light, Rose Tyler was gone.

She landed in a dark alley. Again. It was a common occurrence, and Rose often wondered if her team was just trying to get her mugged. Groaning, she stood up and walked out of the alley to face Donna Noble. It really was nice when Rhys hand delivered her.

"Hello."  
"Hi."  
"What is it this time?", Donna asked her.  
"The ATMOS devices. We're lucky, it's not so bad here. Britain hasn't got that much petrol. But all over Europe, China, South Africa, they're getting choked by gas."  
"Can't anyone stop it?"  
Rose smiled sadly. She had been this reality before and knew what going on. "Yeah, they're trying right now, this little band of fighters, on board the Sontaran ship." She nodded to the sky. "Any second now."

The sky flashed in red and orange and Donna turned back to Rose.

"And that was-?"  
"The Torchwood team. Gwen Cooper and Ianto Jones gave their lives. And Captain Jack Harkness has transported to the Sontaran home world. There's no one left."  
Donna looked her over like she was some crazy woman. "You're always wearing the same clothes. Why won't you tell me your name?"  
Rose ignored her questions. "None of this was meant to happen. There was this wonderful man, and he stopped it. The Titanic, the Adipose, the ATMOS, he stopped them all from happening."  
"That Doctor?"  
"You knew him."  
"Did I? When?"  
Rose looked her in the eye. "I think you dream about him sometimes. It's a man in a suit. Tall, thin man." She guessed his height with her hands. "Great hair. Some really great hair.", she grinned.  
"Who are you?"  
The blonde woman looked off in the distance. "I was like you. I used to be you. You've travelled with him, Donna. You've travelled with the Doctor in a different world."

When Rose found that out about a week ago, she resented and was thankful for Donna at the same time. She resented her in the fact that she was with the Doctor, that she got to travel instead of being stuck in one place. But Rose was also thankful because Donna saved the Doctor's life. If he hadn't meet her, a few months later he would've sat under a bridge until the Thames came and swallowed him up.

"I never met him, and he's dead!"  
Rose shook her head. "He died underneath the Thames on Christmas Eve, but you were meant to meet him. He needed someone to stop him, and that was you. You made him move on and you saved his life."  
"I don't know what you're talking about. Leave me alone!", Donna tried to run off, but Rose grabbed her elbow.

"Something's coming, Donna. Something worse than this.", Rose gestured to the sky.  
"The whole world is suffocating. How can anything be worse than this?"  
"Trust me. We need the Doctor more than ever. I've- I've been travelling from a different universe because _every single_ universe is in danger. It's coming, Donna. It's coming from across the stars and nothing can stop it."  
"What is?"  
"The darkness.", Rose vaguely explained.  
"Well, what do you keep telling me for?", Donna shrugged. "What am I supposed to do? I'm nothing special. I mean- I'm nothing special. I'm a temp. I'm not even that. I'm nothing."  
Rose laughed. "Oh, Donna Noble, you're the most important woman in the whole of creation."  
Donna sighed and turned on her heel. "Oh, just don't. I'm tired. I'm so tired."  
"I need you to come with me.", Rose grabbed her shoulder and turned her around.  
"Yeah. Blonde hair might work on the men, but you ain't shifting me, lady."  
"That's more like it.", Rose grinned.  
"I've got plenty more.", Donna scoffed.  
"Then you'll come with me, but only when you want to."  
"You'll have a long wait, then."  
Rose shook her head. "Not really. Only a few weeks time. Tell me, does your grandfather still have that telescope?"  
"He never lets go of it.", Donna chuckled.  
Rose smiled sadly at her. "Three weeks time, but you've got to be certain. Because when you come with me, Donna-" Rose took a breath and her eyes flickered to a blue box across the street and back. "I'm sorry, so sorry, but you're going to die."

Donna gaped at her as she ran across the street. Rose pulled the cold key out from under her shirt. She slowly slid it in the lock and the door clicked open. She stepped inside and felt nothing. It seemed the TARDIS was dead. It was dark, empty and cold. Rose slid a hand down the railing of the ramp. This wasn't how she had imagined being reunited with the TARDIS would be. She thought that the TARDIS would've filled her empty mind, and everything wouldn't have felt so lonely. When she had been dragged into Pete's World, her connection with the sentimental time ship had been cut off and her mind left void. It was as if she ached for something to fill it, for something to be there.

Rose looked over the controls and brushed her hand over them. She had often wished the Doctor would teach her how to fly the TARDIS, but she never got the courage to ask. The TARDIS was something special to him. It was the last piece of his world. She touched a coral strut, only to pull her hand back immediately. There was no hum, no motherly comforting in her mind. It felt so wrong.

She wondered aimlessly down the corridors and stepped into the kitchen. If she blocked out the aching for the hum of the TARDIS, she could imagine it was the middle of the night and that she was coming in for a cup of tea. Walking across the kitchen, she opened up the cupboard and smiled. The Doctor still had the collection of miscellaneous mugs they had collected from various planets. Her favourite mug, the one she had used the morning of the Battle of Canary Warf, sat by itself on the shelf. She closed the cupboard door and walked out of the kitchen, wondering if her bedroom was till around here somewhere. She pulled out a torch from her backpack so she could see down the dark hallway.

Rose pushed her bedroom door open. Everything was still a mess, the walls were still purple, but the ceiling was dark. No star shone from it and the carpet on the floor had changed into a wood floor. She walked in and was hit with a wave of nostalgia. The room smelled liked her room on the estate. It was weird, the way she could remember stuff like that. Rose laid down on the bed and sighed. She could smell the odd mix of old books, TARDIS grease, and time that made up the Doctor. Smiling inside, but tears falling on the outside, she knew he had laid here. Somehow that knowledge made her happy, but broke her inside. The Doctor had still thought about her, but she had killed him. Again.

But then again, this was a totally different reality. The Doctor could've not lain here. He could've forgotten about her, like he did with Sarah Jane. He could've jettisoned her room and thrown the mugs out into an airlock. He could've whizzed off into time and space in his magic box and left all his problems behind like he usually did. It had been twenty-five years after all. Why should she be different? She was a shop girl from London whose life happened to be saved by a time traveller pompously named a Time Lord, which she was now chasing around the universes and having no luck whatsoever finding him. And if she did find him, maybe he'd be mad at her for killing him. Or maybe he wouldn't remember her at all.

"No good thinking like that, Rose.", she admonished herself. "You're not really out here to find him for yourself anyway. Your saving the universe." She pushed her tired body off the bed and something rolled out from under the pillow. It was the Doctor's sonic screwdriver. She picked it up to look it over and smiled when she saw that the lights were still on. Rose laughed happily as she ran to the console room to fix the TARDIS.

* * *

Rose pushed the brake on the Land Rover and looked over at Donna Noble who was in the passenger seat. In the month that she had been here, she had managed to earn the respect of the UNIT of this universe, who she had told the situation of the universes too. Thankfully, they had realised the stars were going out to and had promised to help her.

A woman officer saluted Rose as she walked into what looked like a warehouse while towing Donna behind her.  
"Ma'am."  
"I've told you, don't salute. I have enough of that at home."  
The officer shrugged. "Well, if you're not going to tell us your name-"  
Rose ignored her and walked over to a set of controls, with the TARDIS sitting behind them.  
"What, you don't know either?", Donna asked the woman.  
Rose interrupted, without looking up, before the officer could go on. "I've crossed too many different realities. Trust me, the wrong word in the wrong place can change an entire causal nexus."  
The officer shook her head. "She talks like that. A lot. You must be Miss Noble."  
"Donna."  
"Captain Erisa Magambo. Thank you for this.", Erisa motioned to the set of machine and controls over by Rose.  
Donna shook her head. "I don't even know what I'm doing."

"Is she awake?", Rose asked the captain.  
"Seems to be quiet today. Ticking over. Like it's waiting."  
The blonde woman turned back to Donna with a smile. "Do you want to see it?"  
"What's a police box?", Donna asked, looking over the blue box.  
"I found it not far from where we were the other night. Just go inside."  
"What for?"  
"Just go in.", Rose encouraged her. She grinned as Donna went inside and came back out, walked a complete circle around the time machine, and went back inside.

"What do you think?"  
Donna shook her head. "Can I have a coffee?"  
Rose laughed and walked into the console room with Donna following her. "She's the TARDIS, short for time and relative dimension in space. This room-" She motioned to the large room they were in."-used to shine with light. I tried to fix her, but I think she'd dying." Rose softly touched the Time Rotor and it moved a little bit. The TARDIS wasn't strong enough to communicate telepathically, but it was nice to know that she was still alive somewhat. "And she's till trying to help.", she smiled sadly.  
"And it belonged to the Doctor?"  
Rose nodded. "He was a Time Lord, last of his kind."  
"But if he was so special, what was he doing with me?"  
"He thought you were brilliant.", Rose smiled.  
Donna laughed. "Don't be stupid."  
Rose looked at her sternly. "But you are. It just took the Doctor to show you that, simply by being with him. He did the same to me. To everyone he touches.", she finished quietly.  
"Were you and him-?", Donna asked.  
Rose cleared her throat and looked intently at the rehead's back. "Do you want to see it?"  
Donna shook her head. "No. Go on, then."  
Rose led her out of the TARDIS and over to a circle of mirrors. "We don't know how the TARDIS works, but I've managed to scrape off the surface technology, enough to show you the creature."  
"It's a creature?"  
Rose moved her to the middle of the circle and moved out at the Captain's request. "Just stand here."  
"Can't you stay with me?", Donna asked as the lights flickered on and she squeezed eyes shut.  
"Open your eyes, Donna.", Rose requested.  
"Is it there?"  
"Open your eyes. Look at it."  
"I can't-"  
"It's part of you, Donna. Look."

Donna opened her eyes to see a giant beetle hanging on her back. She was starting to panic when Rose called out. "It's okay. Calm down, Donna. Okay?"  
"What is it?"  
"We don't know. It feeds off time by changing time. By making someone's life take a different turn like er- meetings never made, children never born, a life never loved. But with you, it's-"  
"I never did anything important."  
"Oh yes, you did. One day that thing made you turn right instead of left."  
"When was that? How would you know?"  
"I can see, um, people's lives, I suppose. Not their entire lives, just fuzzy bits of important things. But you wouldn't remember. It was the most ordinary day in the world. But by turning right, you never met the Doctor, and the whole world just changed around you."  
"Can you get rid of it?"  
"No, I can't even touch it. It seems to be in a state of flux."  
"What does that mean?"  
Rose chuckled. "I don't know. It's the sort of thing the Doctor would say."  
Donna wasn't amused. "You liar! You told me I was special, but it's not me, it's this thing. I'm just a host!"  
"No, there's more than that. The readings are strange. It's like reality's just bending round you."  
"Because of this thing!", Donna motioned to the beetle.  
"No, no! We're getting separate readings from you. They've always been there since the day you were born.", Rose said almost in awe. "I thought it was just the Doctor we needed, but it's the both of you. The Doctor and Donna Noble, together, to stop the stars from going out."  
"Why? What can I do? Turn it off, please."

Captain Erisa shut down the machine.  
"It's still there though. What can I do to get rid of it?", Donna asked as Rose came over with a jacket covered in wires."  
"You're going to travel in time. The TARDIS has tracked down the moment of intervention. Monday the twenty fifth, one minute past ten in the morning. Your car was on Little Sutton Street leading to the Ealing Road, but you turned right heading towards Griffin's Parade. You need to turn left." Rose grasped her by the shoulders. "You hear me, that's the most important thing. You've got to go back, turn left. Have you got that, Donna? One minute past ten, make yourself turn left, heading for the Chiswick Highroad."

Erisa Magambo started talking before Donna could answer her. "Keep the jacket on at all times. It's insulation against temporal feedback. This will correspond to local time wherever you land.", she said as Rose put a watch on Donna's wrist and handed her a glass of water. "This is to combat dehydration."  
"This is where we leave you.", Rose said sadly.  
"I don't want to see that thing on my back.", Donna said, motioning to the mirrors.  
"No, the mirrors are just incidental. They bounce chronon energy back into the centre where we control and decide the destination."  
"It's a time machine."  
"Yeah."  
"How do you know it's going to work?"  
"We- we don't. We're just guessing."  
"Oh, brilliant.", Donna said sarcastically.  
Rose smiled softly. "Just remember, when you get to the junction, change the car's direction by one minute past ten."  
"How do I do that?"  
"It's up to you."  
"I just have to run up to myself and have a good argument.?"  
"I'd like to see that!", Rose laughed before turning serious. "Good luck."  
"I'm ready."  
"One minute past ten."  
"I understand now. You said I was going to die, but you mean this whole world is going to blink out of existence. But that's not dying, because a better world takes its place, the Doctor's world, and I'm still alive. That's right, isn't it? I don't die. If I change things, I don't die. That's that's right, isn't it?"  
Rose shook her head, tears threatening to fall. "I'm sorry.", she whispered. "I'll come find you."  
"But I can't die! I've got a future. With the Doctor. You told me!", Donna exclaimed.

Rose opened her mouth the say more, but Erisa activated the machine and Donna disappeared. Rose ran into the TARDIS and grabbed her pack and the Doctor's screwdriver. She ran back out into the circle of mirrors.  
"Captain, you have to send me next."  
"But, ma'am, we don't know if it works."  
"Shut up and quit calling me ma'am.", Rose snapped. "This world is gonna disappear and I can't be here when it does. I have a couple of universes to save."  
Captain Erisa nodded and started it up. "The temporal feedback is going to hurt."  
"I've been through the Void and back several times. Some call it Hell."  
Erisa raised an eyebrow with a smile and activated it. "Thanks for doing this, ma'am."  
"How many times am I going to have to-"

A white light filled Rose's senses and she fell to the ground. Looking up, she noticed a redhead running towards a taxi.  
"Donna!" A screech coupled with a agonized filled the air as Rose stumbled to the scene of the accident.  
"Oh, Donna, I'm sorry, so sorry.", she brushed back hair from the dying woman's face. "I just- You have to tell him one thing for me, okay? Two words-"

Rose told the her her code name for Torchwood, the name of the goddess that saved the Doctor and kept him safe, and although she couldn't remember, her childhood nickname. With that, Donna passed from the fake world and it began to spin, twist, and contort into nothingness. Rose hit the button on her manipulated dimension cannon and it brought her back to Pete's World. If only one day it would take her home.

* * *

Rose landed on the tile floor of the Torchwood on her hands and knees, surprising her Torchwood team.

"Holy cow, Rose! Why didn't give us warning?", Jack exclaimed as he jumped up from his chair.  
Rose groaned and sat up on her knees, grabbing her head. "Nice to see you too, Mr. Harkness."  
"Gwen, call Owen and tell him to get up here.", Jack commanded as he helped her up. "Tim, call Director Tyler and tell him his daughter is here."

"Who's Tim?", questioned Rose.

"New guy.", Jack explained and then his voice turned to a forced whisper. "I'll tell you later."

Owen came rushing into the room. "Rose, your not supposed to be back for five months. What happened?"

"Really, guys? No 'Hey, Rose, how's it going?' or 'Hello, nice surprise that you dropped in'?"

Jack chuckled while Owen fussed over her and Gwen rushed over to her to give her a hug. "What happened, Rose?"

"False universe like Rhys suggested. Where is he?"  
"He's at the zoo with the kids.", Gwen smiled.

"Ah, anyway, the world was collapsing so I had to get back here before I went with it."  
Jack took the dimension cannon from her and looked it over. "It's going to take us a couple days to get it back to normal."

"That's ok. I'd like to rest for a bit before-"

"So this is Rose Tyler? Pete and Jackie Tyler's daughter?"

They all turned to the source of the deeper voice, Timothy Brent. Rose raised an eyebrow and looked him over. He was tall, blonde, and probably in his twenties. He was leaning back in a chair with his arms folded and a smug look across his face.

"Yes, I'm Rose Tyler.", she said carefully. The man looked wary of her, but she was used to it. Technically she was forty-seven, but still only looked about twenty-five.

"I was under the impression that you were a bit older."  
Rose looked over at Jack, who gave her the _later_ look. "They sent him over from Cardiff."

She nodded slowly and stood up. "Right."

Right then Pete Tyler walked in with a huge grin on his face. His hair was old and grey and he looked like he could be her grandfather. Rose smiled and ran over to him.  
"Hello, Dad."  
"Hello, Rose. Why are you back so soon?"  
Rose sighed as she let go of him. "Question of the day, isn't it? Rhys happened to be right about the world revolving around what would be your parallel Donna. It was some kind of time-in-flux thing, but we got it fixed. I had to get back before the world I was in collapsed."

"Right. Your mum is going to be surprised. Your staying for a couple days this time I hope."  
"Yep.", Rose smiled. "Rhys and Jack are going to have to work on the cannon after I messed with it."

"Rose, you know not to fiddle with anything unless your here at home."

"I followed the instruction they gave me. Dad, you know that this isn't my-"

"I know."

Jack interrupted their conservation with a cough. "Mr. Brent here isn't exactly on our list for the inside Project Star."

Pete looked up at the new man. "Right, this is ?", he held out his hand to the blonde man. "Nice to meet you, I hope you enjoy working here at Torchwood."

"Thank you, Director Tyler.", the man gave him an award-winning smile. "I'm sure I will."

* * *

"So basically, he's an arrogant prat that thinks he can save the world single-handedly because his dad worked in Torchwood.", Rose asked Jack over fish and chips.

"Pretty much.", Jack agreed before stuffing his mouth full of chips.  
"Great. Just what we need for our team. We know why Cardiff got rid of him. Is he good with aliens at least?"

Jack scowled and swallowed his mouth. "No, actually. He acts too much like a tough guy and thinks they're dumb and think for themselves."

"He's going to get himself killed."

Jack lifted his soda to a toast. "Here's to hoping he does just that."

"Jack, honestly.", she hit his arm while laughing. "How are the kids?"

He grinned at the change in subject. "Great. Sam, the youngest, is graduating from kindergarten next week. I think Donna's having a meltdown."  
"How come? It's only kindergarten."

"_But he's not my baby anymore._", Jack tried to mimic his wife.

Rose laughed as they continued talking about his family and work. She could almost pretend this was her Jack that she was talking to. She'd miss this Jack when she went to the parallel world. But for now, it was nice to have a distraction at hand.

* * *

Rose sighed as she scratched more notes onto her paper a few days later. Figuring out a dimension cannon that would work with the dimension walls collapsing wasn't very easy. It'd take her a couple more years at least, so she may as well work on it. Even as someone knocked on her office door, she didn't take the time to look up.

"Yep?"  
"It's Brent, Commander."

Rose mimicked him as he said the same line as he always did. She was fed up with this Torchwood brat. He thought Torchwood should be run as a military organisation, not a centre for helping Earth and other planets get along.

"Yes, Tim?"

"I've got an alien that was sent up for detainment."

Rose growled. He had gone to far again. "Please bring them in, Brent." She didn't look up as he walked in. Rose wasn't sure if she could keep her cool and not blow up at him. He set the alien in the chair in front of her, but she still didn't look up.

"What did you bring him in for, Brent?"

"His ship crashed out on that forsaken beach in Norway everyone in this team is so touchy about."  
Rose growled ever so quietly again and started pressing her pen harder to the paper. "Give me a better reason."  
"His ship came through the rift, or that's what Jack thought. He told me to bring him up because the readings showed the kind that you've been looking for and-"

Rose looked up and gaped for two seconds before regaining her composure. "You can leave now."

Tim raised an eyebrow and the alien smirked. "Commander? I don't think it's wise to leave you in here with a strange alien."  
"I said you can leave, Private.", she snapped.

"Commander, I'm going have to ask-"

Rose stood up and walked over to him. "I can take care of myself, Timothy Brent, and you-", she poked him hard., "-can leave my office _and never come back!_"

Tim slipped out of the room before she could deck him, and she leaned her head against the door and locked it.

"Some headache you got there, _Commander. _You really should learn to control your feelings. Not every telepathic being within five kilometers of here wants to hear you screaming in their head."

* * *

**A/N: ** Tim has nothing to do with anything else in this story. He's just an annoying co-worker. But who could this alien be? And what if you don't have to be a Time Lord or Lady to use the Chameleon Arch? ;)


	24. Chapter 24: My Past, Your Future

**A/N: **So... Did you like my cliffhanger? Hopefully this will catch you off guard. ;D

* * *

Rose laughed as her head hit the door. It was him. Really him. Cropped hair, sarcastic remarks, that smirk, the leather jacket. It was her first Doctor in every sense. Rose hit her head on the door again. Hard this time.

"I could kill him.", she muttered, wishing Tim would just go away.

The Doctor sat with a raised eyebrow. He had been bored and only promised the TARDIS one last trip before heading to the Thames. And it so happened that the TARDIS had picked up on someone travelling through the dimensions, and he followed and ended up here. He watched the blonde girl suspiciously for a few moments as she sat down and rubbed her temples.

"Well-", he looked down at the metal sign setting on her desk. "-Commander Rose Tyler, what do you want? I hope that comment right then was for the prick outside and not me."

Rose looked up disbelievingly. "Twenty-five years, Doctor, and that's what you have to say?"  
"What else am I supposed to say? I've been dragged to a organization that's supposed to be trying to kill me in another universe for some reason, but this one just wants to sit and talk. Maybe have a spot of tea.", he shrugged.

She blinked. This was not how imagined a reunion with the Doctor would go. Maybe a meeting in busy market place and they'd run and meet in the middle of the street, like in movies. Or maybe she'd find the TARDIS and just sit in the pilot seat, waiting for him to come back and watch his face as walked in. She never thought that he would come here, he didn't think it was possible.

"So what then, you're mad that I work here?"

He looked her over and then stood up to brush his black jeans off. "Quiet honestly, I don't care where you work. I'm just here to investigate tech that's here before it's time. Also-", he eyed her again, "-maybe I'll teach you how quiet down that mind of yours before I go. Blimey. It's like your screaming in my head."

Rose stood up. "So your not even for me? Not even just to see me?", she asked quietly.

"Uh,", he looked around the room and grabbed the notes off her desk slowly, "-not specifically, no."  
She let a few tears fall down her cheeks. "I thought you- Never mind.", she shook her head and brushed off the salty drops.  
The Doctor looked up from her notes. "Your doing a really fantastic job acting like you know me."  
"And your doing great job acting like _you_ don't know _me_, you pompous Time Lord! I spent three years with-", she stopped yelling when she noticed that he was scanning her with his sonic screwdriver. "What are doing? Normally you ask before you do that."  
"No, I don't normally. You shouldn't know that I'm a Time Lord.", he said darkly while looking at the results on his sonic screwdriver. "So, your species is unidentifiable and you've somehow managed to get hold of the Time Vortex and mess up your entire DNA. Congratulations."

Rose gaped at him and finally understood. This was the Doctor _before _he knew her. "You haven't come in contact with any Autons yet, have you, Doctor?"

Rose winced as he grabbed her wrist he pushed her up against the wall while he kept reading the screen on his sonic screwdriver. "Not recently, Commander, but if you do see any, let me know."

She tried to wiggled out of his grip, but only managed to start the pain back up in her injured shoulder again. "Why are you holding me here?"

"Your really asking that? Maybe it's because I feel threatened. First off, the people who work for you dragged me against my will and then stuck me into an office with their commander who is of an unidentifiable species and is emotionally unstable. Not to mention she's a semi-telepathic screaming in my head every time she feels strongly about something. She also knows that I'm a Time Lord called the Doctor and I haven't even mentioned anything about myself yet. Next thing you know she'll be telling me what TARDIS stands for and drag me downstairs to be part of your collection.", he finished as he pocketed the sonic screwdriver.

"Time and relative dimension in space.", she rolled her eyes. " And we don't _collect _people. Good heavens, I forgot how uncaring and sarcastic you can be in this incarnation. For a minute there, I thought you unregenerated or something."

The Doctor looked her over and slackened his grip just a bit. "Who are you?"

She thought for a moment before deciding what to say. He already knew she was Rose Tyler. How could she explain who she was to a man who travelled to universe and would yell at her later for changing time even though it wasn't her fault?

An idea came to her. Wherever she went, no matter what universe, planet, or time she landed in, there was one myth that lasted. The story of the Bad Wolf. But it wasn't always called that and pieces of it were scattered across the universe. The piece on Earth, Little Red Riding Hood, portrayed the wolf to be bad, but it really wasn't. When you brought all the pieces together, it was a long story that was totally different than the one she had read to her as a child.

"Bad Wolf.", she said grinning. "I'm the Bad Wolf."

"Bad Wolf is a fairytale."  
"Sometimes I wish that.", she said sadly as she took her window of opportunity and used her Torchwood training to twist out of his grip, spraining her shoulder again and knocking over the desk chair in the process. Rose scrambled over to the other side of the room, with the Doctor trying to follow her. She finally stopped and backed up against the wall. She opened her mouth to say something as the Doctor moved to pull her up by the arm when a knocked sounded on the door.

"Rose?", Jack's muffled voice came through the wood. "Is everything all right in there?"  
Rose looked up at the Doctor, who had frozen in his spot, and then back to the door. "Yep. Everything's fine, except you might want to send Owen up."

There was a moment of silence and they thought he had gone, so Rose hurried to stand up and head toward the door, but the Doctor grabbed her arm.

"I don't know how stupid you think I am, but in the other universe, Torchwood's dead set on killing me and I haven't set any high expectation for this one either."

"Look-", Rose began, trying to ignore her shoulder. "-we're definitely not here to kill you. There aren't even Time Lords in this universe so there's no possible way for them to know about you. I know there's ton of people out to get you, but I'm not one of them. You just got handled by the new guy on my team, and trust me, the next free moment I have, I am sending him back to Cardiff personally. Now let go of my arm before-"

Jack kicked in the door in before she could finish, with Rhys and Owen right behind him. Rose stepped in front of the Doctor as Jack pulled up his pistol.

"So, you're not here to kill me?", the Doctor sarcastically observed.

Rose ignored him and faced Jack. "Listen, it's fine. It's him, the Doctor. He just doesn't know me yet. Or the parallel version of you for that matter, Jack."

Jack slipped his weapon back at his side and folded his arms. "It's fine? I come into your office, which was locked by the way, to see you being manhandled. And this is after you tell me to send a doctor in."  
She sighed and rubbed her head. "Jack, just- It's fine, ok? I just need Owen to take a quick look at my shoulder and then I need to talk to the Doctor. He might be able to help us."

"Who said I'm helping you?", the Doctor spoke up.

"Just shut it, okay? I'm going to explain in a minute.", Rose turned to him and then back to the other people in the room. "Owen, I need you to take another look at my shoulder. I think I sprained it again. Rhys, I need you to work on that dimension cannon. If he doesn't help us, we're going to need it. Jack-", she paused for a moment and took a breath, "-send that Tim kid back where he came from."

* * *

Rose moved to pick up her notes off her floor as Owen left her office. The Doctor had spent the entire time going through her office, still slightly suspicious of alien technology. He had scanned every electronic device in room. Inspected all the notes in her desk. It annoyed Rose slightly, but she knew that if the Doctor didn't have something to do, he was more likely to do something destructive.

"Is it really two thousand thirty-three?", the Doctor asked, looking at her wall calender.

"Yes.", Rose said as she sat back down in her chair. "Do you think you could sit down so we could talk?"

"I don't do domestic."

She grinned at him as he sat down. "Of course not."  
"So what is it that you want need help with?"  
Rose sighed, leaned back in her chair, and adjusted the strap of the sling Owen had given her. "We're trying to find you- the future you."  
The Doctor furrowed his brows. "Why exactly are you trying to find me?"

"The stars are going out." '_-and I love you and miss you._',she added mentally.

"Stars just don't go out."

"I mean they're disappearing. Just going out. The skies are going dark, but not just on this universe. It's happening in all the universes."

"Why exactly do you need me then?"

Rose just looked at him for a moment. "You're the Doctor. I've seen you save so many people, do so many great things. There's no one else that I know of that can help."

"Sounds like you have me up on a pedestal. Like I'm some sort of superman", he snorted. "You don't even know of the things I've done."

"I've seen some of the things you've done, Doctor.", she paused a moment before continuing. "I've stood in the face of the Oncoming Storm. I've seen you hurt, kill people right before my eyes, but I didn't run. I know what happened in the Time War. Everything you do is for a reason, Doctor. Now me? I'm the selfish one. I wanted to end my life because I thought there was nothing left. I caused a rip in time because I wanted to see my dad. I practically made myself a goddess and committed genocide. And worst of all-", Rose's lip trembled, "-I've killed you. Three times." She laughed mirthlessly. "Imagine that. Killing the man you love after you promise him forever. I quite imagine you don't believe me.", she finished quietly after seeing the Doctor's surprised face.

"How do you know about the Time War?", he asked slowly.  
"Tell the man who doesn't do domestics that you love him and he asks about the thing that requires the most explanation."  
"Well, are you going to answer my question or not?"

She sighed. "I shouldn't. I really shouldn't. I'm messing with time itself here, Doctor. I've already given to much away. You shouldn't even know who I am yet.", she said sadly.

The Doctor sat back in his chair. This child was a intricate puzzle set in front of him. She was so young, yet her demeanour, not to mention her eyes, were mature. She knew him, his future, and part of his past. She knew about rips in time, timelines, travelling through dimensions. This Rose had admitted to seeing him as the Oncoming Storm, but didn't think of as a monster, but she had killed him. But how exactly?

What scared him the most though was her audacity to say that she _loved_ him. She wasn't even old enough to know what love is. If she was, she would know that he was a man who couldn't be loved, nor deserved to be. And certainly he wouldn't take another stupid ape, or whatever she was, aboard the TARDIS. Not even an interesting one like this. Not again.

He brought a foot over his knee and readjusted himself in the chair, as if to stay.

"Well-", he drawled the word out slowly, "-supposed you tell me how we meet, since I now know you're from my future."

Rose shook her head. "You know I can't."

He folded his arms across he chest. "So you expect me to just help you after you tell me that you commit genocide and kill me without saying anything more?"  
"I'm not proud that I committed genocide, but I would change what I did. I saved your life, but then unintentionally killed you. In fact, you never told me that I had done it.", she said accusingly. "And I'm not asking for your help just because I want it. I'm asking for it to save the universes."

"So then, Rose Tyler, defender of the universes, what do you want me to do?"

"You'll help then?", she smiled at the familiar nickname.

"On one condition and only because the universes are in danger."  
"What's that?"

"You tell me how we meet and why you left me, because I usually don't take recreational trips to other universes. It's not really supposed to be possible."

Rose sighed and sat back. "But you'll know me when you meet me. We can't just rewrite time. Everything will be different. I don't know if Recton works on Time Lords."

The Doctor grinned at her. "No, it doesn't. But you obviously don't know me very well. I'll erase my memories when we're done doing whatever we do."

Rose raised an eyebrow. "You can really do that?"  
"Time Lord, me.", he said smugly.

"You think your so impressive."  
"I am."

She shook her head laughingly. "An impressive ego is what you have. You never really get rid of it, you know.", her eyes twinkled.

"If your done being amused at my expense-", he huffed, "-I think we should talk about saving the universe."

"Of course. All I need to do is hitch a ride back to Earth."

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you on Earth?"

She shook her head. "Not my Earth. See, I'm not from this universe."  
"And I just let you stay here? How stupid do I get? That could cause an imbalance."  
"I don't exist in this universe or any others, to be exact."

"I see and there's only three you know."

Rose looked up at him, confused. "What? Three universes?"

"Yep."

"But I've been to lots of them."

The Doctor smirked at her. "You apes wouldn't understand. There's only three universes, but different parallel worlds inside of them."

"Right.", she blinked. "Anyway, I need to get back to my universe, on Earth, preferably in current time where I can find the future you."

"Easy."

She gave him a disbelieving look. "Your not exactly known for your accurate driving, you know."

"What? Driving the TARDIS isn't that hard."

"Then I was right.", she laughed.

"About what?"

"You like to show off."

* * *

Rose stopped behind the Doctor as they entered the TARDIS that sat on _The_ beach. The feeling of the TARDIS filling her empty mind was comforting, almost like a mother soothing her child. The headache that had been plaguing her for years was gone. Rose closed her eyes and breathed in the smell of time as a tear slipped out of the corner of her eye. She opened her eyes to see the Doctor standing at the console, staring at her.

"Are you okay?", he asked tentatively.

"Yeah.", she brushed a tear away. "It's just that- Well, ever since I was brought to this universe, my mind has been- I don't know. Empty. Like it's aching for something to be there. And the TARDIS, she just sort of fills it. You know what I mean?"

The Doctor turned back to the console as she walked over. "Yeah."

She slipped her hand in his and leaned against him. "I'm sorry.", she whispered.

He looked down at her unsure of what to do. He had just met her and here she was hanging onto his hand like a lifeline and whispering condolences he didn't deserve. The Doctor twitched awkwardly and coughed.  
"Sorry.", she jumped back and his hand was left feeling empty. "It's just sort of a habit."

"Right.", he said taking out his sonic screwdriver. "How about you continue on your explanation of how we meet while I figure how to get us out of here?"

Rose sat herself back in the familiar pilot seat and smiled. It was like being home. "Well, I used be shop girl in this store called Hendrik's. I went downstairs one night after I heard the janitor yell and all these mannequins were down there. Next thing I know, they're surrounding me and you grab my hand and say 'Run'."

"That's it?"

"My saving your life later that night might've helped too, I suppose.", she grinned at him.

"I thought you kill me."

"That comes later.", she said sadly.

"What happened?"

"I wanted to see my dad. He died when I was just a baby. So you took me. My mother handed me myself and it caused Reapers. One ate you.", she finished distastefully.  
"That's why I usually don't take stupid apes back in their own timelines.", he muttered from under the console.

"Don't think I can't you, because I can.", she teased him. "Don't worry though. You give me a huge lecture later. Go all Oncoming Storm and make me cry."

"How'd you get me back?", the question muffled by the sonic screwdriver in his mouth.

"My dad had to die. He ran out in front of a car, but at least I got to do what I wanted to."

"What was that?"

"I got to be with him when he died. All my life, my mother wished someone could've been with him and now someone was."

The Doctor didn't have anything to say, but instead crawled out from under the console.

"Well, I think we're ready to go."

"Could we-", Rose bit her lip, "-go visit my mum first, maybe?"

"I told you that I don't do domestic."

"You don't have to come in, just take me there before we go?"

"There's a couple universes to be saved and you want to see your mum?"

"I don't plan on coming back. The least I could do is say goodbye."

He thought for a moment before giving in. "Fine, but only for a few minutes. We're not staying for tea or anything."

"Thanks."

* * *

Rose tried to stop the Doctor before he left the TARDIS as they landed in the Tyler mansion's grounds.

"Wait, Doctor, my mum. She knows the sound of the TARDIS. If you go out and she sees you like this-"

He ignored her and opened the door to find one very surprised and very angry Jackie Tyler, who was almost seventy.

"WHY YOU-", Jackie didn't finish as she landed a thwack and a couple of punches on a shocked Doctor.

"Woah, woah, woah!", he jumped back. "I said I'd take you back to say bye to your mum. Not to be plummeted by your grandmother."

"I AM NOT HER GRANDMOTHER. I THOUGHT YOU SAID THAT YOU COULDN'T GET BACK HERE, YOU BLOODY ALIEN.", she moved to slap him again, but was stopped by Rose.

"Mum, just listen for a moment. This is the Doctor before he meets me. You wouldn't understand, but he doesn't know me yet. He followed me through after my last run with the dimension cannon."

Jackie looked him over with scrutinising eyes. "What's he doin' here then ?"

"He's here to help me get home, Mum.", she swallowed.  
"You're leaving then.", Jackie said quietly.

"Yeah.", Rose barely managed to say.

"Well, we talked about it and I knew it would happen eventually. I just-", she grabbed Rose by the shoulders. "You make sure he takes good care you, and don't you dare let him leave you again. And make sure you take care of your self "

Rose held her mum tightly. "I will, mum. I will."

Jackie wiped her tears as she let go of her daughter. "The jeep is parked in the drive and your stuff's in the back."

"Okay."

Rose headed towards the vehicle as the Doctor looked awkwardly between the mother and her daughter.

"Doctor-", Jackie began in her very close to mother-in-law way, "-you take care of my little girl. Don't hurt her again, because if you do, I will find you and I will slap you so hard that you'll regenerate. Got that?"

The Doctor nodded quickly as Rose came up toting a huge gun and a backpack.

"I guess this is goodbye.", she said to her mum. "I wish Pete and Tony we're here."

Jackie smiled sadly at her and then held her again. "I wish they were too, Rose. Just remember one thing, will you?" Rose nodded as her mum continued. "I'm so sorry I couldn't have raised you better and not caused so much heartache for us both." Rose tried to interrupt, but Jackie wouldn't let her. " I'm so very, very proud of you. Of all the things you've done and accomplished. I'm so proud of my little girl who grew up to be a beautiful woman."

Rose nodded and stepped back to wipe her eyes. "I love you, mum."

"I love you too, Rose.", Jackie let her go. " Now you go, Rose Tyler, and you save the universe."

* * *

Rose was hanging onto a coral strut as the Doctor navigated the TARDIS into the Time Vortex of other universe.

Her head was spinning. The day had started out as her new definition of normal. Now her world was turned sideways and she possibly be making horrible mistakes with time today, but she didn't care. Not when the universe was involved, not when all these people needed help and answers, not when she could have the chance to see her Doctor. She was just getting used to seeing this Doctor, but he didn't know her. They had said hardly a word since they had gotten back in the TARDIS.

At least she'd get to say a proper goodbye to this incarnation.

"I can take care of that shoulder for you back in med bay if you like.", the Doctor interrupted her thoughts.

She smiled up at him. "Yeah, I'd like that. Never know what you're gonna have to fight out there."

"Is that what that's for?", he nodded to her huge gun leaning against the pilot seat.

"I only use it if they draw first, or they're threatening someone else.", she looked him the eye. "I'm not a coldblooded."

"I didn't think you were."

"The future you might when he sees it.", she laughed. "It seems that you don't like weapons."

"I don't really."

"Ah.", Rose said awkwardly as they entered med bay. She sat on one of the tables and looked around with a smile.

"Recognize it?", he asked with a smile as he managed to locate the tissue regenerator.

"Yeah. It's like coming home."

The Doctor didn't say anything as he helped her take off the sling and her jacket to reveal a tank top. Rose flinched as he laid the cold metal on her shoulder.

"Sorry, it's going to hurt a bit."

"A bit late on your warning there.", Rose chuckled.

"What's that?", the Doctor asked motioning to her wrist.

"Oh, it's an extra dimension canon. I built a second one in case the other one got taken from me. It's a bit crude, but it works."

"Still not sure of my driving skills?"

Rose smirked up at him. "They seem to get worse later. Besides, it's better to come prepared. What if you don't want me back?"

"I think, Rose Tyler-", he paused in a moment of rare tenderness, "-that will depend on you. Unless I decide to be stupid. Why did you leave anyway?"

"I got taken away. Neither of us made the choice."

"What happened?"

"Torchwood ripped the Void open. I almost got sucked in while we were trying to close it. My parallel dad saved me at the last moment." The Doctor didn't say anything so she continued. "Sometimes-", she spoke quietly,"-sometimes I wish I fell in."

"How come?"  
"The universes seem to be against me."

"Your not the only one.", he muttered.

They sat in companionable silence as he finished up.

* * *

"Well, Miss Tyler, here's the twenty-first century in London, Earth. This is where I say goodbye."

"Not for long, I hope.", Rose smiled at him.  
"Shouldn't be. I haven't much else to do."

She lifted the big gun so it rested on back and checked to make sure that her sonic screwdriver was still hidden safely away in her pocket. "Your going to erase these memories, right?"

The Doctor looked up from the console. "Yes."

"Then I want a proper goodbye this time."

He raise an eyebrow at her. "What do you mean?"  
"You forget to tell me about regeneration. I never got to say goodbye."

"Ah. Sorry about that.", he turned around to meet her. "Goodbye then Rose Ty-"

Rose interrupted his goodbye as she grabbed his leather jacket and pulled herself up to meet him.

"Goodbye, Doctor.", she smiled inches from his face and then she kissed him chastely and stepped back down. She was headed towards the TARDIS door, but was pulled back by the Doctor, who kissed her softly.

"As I was saying,", he whispered, "Goodbye, Rose Tyler. I'm rather looking forward to meeting you."

Rose gave him her best smile and turned back out the door with one last look at her first Doctor.

* * *

Rose stepped out of the TARDIS and watched it disappear as her hair whipped around her face. Only after did she turn around and see the sky. Planets filled the night sky at close proximity. She twisted her gun around to where she could hold it, not noticing the gaping milkman nearby.

"Right, now we're in big trouble and it's only just beginning.", she murmured to herself.

She continued to walk down the streets. People were panicking. Some were running down the streets while other drove heedlessly down the road. Rose kept on until she came into a more business part of town. Everything was dark and abandoned, and no sign of the Doctor.

"The end of the world, darling. End of the stinking world.", a drunken man stumbled on his words as he sat on a bench in the shadows.  
"Have one on me, mate.", Rose replied sadly when the sound of windows breaking occurred and a alarm started blaring. She ran over to see two young men taking computers and televisions.  
"Right, you two. You can put that stuff down or run for your lives.", she grinned at their stunned faces. "Do you like my gun?"  
She chuckled as they ran from her uplifted gun. Rose picked up one of their abandoned laptops and pointed her sonic screwdriver at it.

'_When you can't find who your looking for-'_, Rose thought with a smile, '-_Google them_.'

* * *

**A/N:** Well, were you expecting that?


	25. Chapter 25: Yours Forever

**A/N:** Well, well, well. Here we are, a reunion at last, but will it last? ;) Honestly, I had to make Rose more self-sufficient in my story. I mean, Torchwood lets her run around with a big gun. SHE IS NOT A NEEDY GIRLFRIEND, MOFFAT. That is all. You may read the chapter now.

* * *

Rose managed to teleport to the Noble's right as the Dalek was threatening two people in front of it. She immediately picked up her gun and exploded the Dalek's head. The older man and a middle-aged red-haired woman stood behind it, shocked.

"Do you want to swap?", the older man asked.  
Rose chuckled and shook her head. "You're Donna Noble's family, right? I'm Rose Tyler, and I need your help. I need to find your granddaughter and the Doctor. Do you know where they're at?  
The older man shook his head. "I've tried calling her, but I can't get through. But she's still with the Doctor, I know that much. Last time she phoned, it was from a planet called Midnight, made of diamonds."  
"What are you two on about?", the Donna's mother asked.  
"Look, she's out there, sweetheart.", Wilf motioned to the sky. "Your daughter. She's travelling the stars with that Doctor. She always has been."  
"Don't be ridiculous."  
"Oh, come on, open your eyes. Look at the sky. Look at the Daleks. You can't start denying things now."  
"Look, you're my last hope. If we can't find Donna, I can't find the Doctor. Have you got a computer?"

* * *

Rose sat on the Noble's couch with the older man, Wilf, sitting next to her. A laptop was sitting in her lap as she messed with the sonic screwdriver.

"He's got one too, you know.", Wilf spoke up.  
"Yeah.", Rose smiled. "I kinda stole this one from a ship of his. Well, kind of. It's a long story."

Wilf hummed non-committally as she pointed it at the computer. Different pictures and static flew across the screen as the sonic bleeped.

"Can anyone hear me?", the familiar voice of Harriet Jones came across. "The Subwave Network is open. You should be able to hear my voice Is there anyone there?"

"I know that voice.", Rose said to Wilf with a grin as Jack's voice came up in the background. "Harriet, it's me. It's me. Oh, she can't hear me. Have you got a webcam?", she turned to Donna's grandfather.  
"No, she wouldn't let me.", he tipped his head towards the kitchen. "She said they're naughty."  
"I can't speak to her then, can I?", she muttered, frustrated.

"Sarah Jane Smith, 13 Bannerman Road. Are you there?", Harriet Jones asked and Sarah replied back positive. "Good. Now, let's see if we can talk to each other. The fourth contact seems to be having some trouble getting through."

Rose smiled as pictures of her old friends showed up on the screen and she pointed the sonic screwdriver at the latop. "That's me. Harriet, that's me."  
Harriet boosted the signal and a black woman's picture came up on the screen.

"Hello. Martha Jones here.", the woman announced herself.  
"Martha Jones?", Jack asked.  
"Who's she?", Rose echoed. "I want to get through."  
"Martha Jones of UNIT. I guess Project Indigo was more clever than we thought. One second I was in Manhattan, next second- Maybe Indigo tapped into my mind, because I ended up in the one place that I wanted to be. But then all of a sudden, it's like the laptop turned itself on."  
Harriet Jones spoke up. "It did. That was me. Harriet Jones, former Prime Minister."  
"Yes, I know who you are."  
"I thought it was about time we all met given the current crisis. Torchwood, this is Sarah Jane Smith.", Harriet introduced Sarah Jane.  
"I've been following your work. Nice job with the Slitheen.", commented Jack.  
"Yeah, well, I've been staying away from you lot. Too many guns.", Sarah nodded to the two teenagers with her, Aimee and Luke.

Rose smiled at seeing Aimee. She hoped she could see the little girl again.

* * *

Sickened, Rose watched as Daleks entered Harriet Jone's home.

"Captain-", she addressed Jack, "-I'm transferring the Subwave Network to Torchwood. You're in charge now. And tell the Doctor from me that he chose his companions well. It's been an honour.", she finished and the screen fizzled out.

Rose pulled out her phone out of her pocket. It had been programmed to be used anywhere and everywhere. Maybe she could use it to find the Doctor. Sylvia, Donna's mother, and Wilf were sitting on the couch and the Doctor and Donna's picture replaced Harriet's corner.

"It's Donna!", Sylvia exclaimed.  
Wilf cheered at the screen. "That's my girl."  
Rose just grinned at the picture of the Doctor. Even if it was only a picture, it was the first time she'd seen the correct timeline version of him in a quarter of a century.

"Sarah Jane. And there's little Aimee. Who's that boy?", the Doctor asked. "That must be Torchwood. Oh, they're brilliant. Look at you all, you clever people."  
"Doctor, it's me, I came back.", Rose whispered at the screen, knowing he couldn't hear her.  
"It's like an outer space Facebook.", Donna laughed.  
The Doctor frowned. "Everyone except Rose."

"I'm here, Doctor. I'm here.", Rose said sadly.

Dalek Caan showed up on the screen a few seconds later, but the Doctor's voice was still in the background. Rose pulled out her sonic and pointed at the screen. If she could get the Doctor's coordinates, she could land somewhere near him. She jumped up as she got the coordinates and pointed the screwdriver at the device on her wrist and set it. Rose looked back up Sylvia and Wilf.

"Right, I'm going to find him. Thanks for all your help. Your brilliant. Wish me luck.", she said with a smile.  
"Good luck.", Syliva said nonchalantly, still staring at the Daleks.  
"Yeah, good luck, sweetheart.", Wilf shook her hand.

Rose hefted her gun over her back and stuffed the sonic into her jacket pocket. Pressing a button on her dimension cannon, she teleported in a flash of light.

* * *

The Doctor and Donna stepped out of the TARDIS onto a deserted street near a church.

"Like a ghost town.", Donna whispered.  
"Sarah Jane said they were taking the people. What for? Think, Donna. When you met Rose in that parallel world, what did she say?"  
"Just that the darkness is coming."  
"Anything else?"  
"Why don't you ask her yourself?", Donna said smiling nodding towards the oncoming blonde. The Doctor whipped around and his jaw dropped. Never in his ten lives had he been so overjoyed.

* * *

Rose landed in a dark alley with a splitting headache.

"Oh, blimey. Every single time.", she moaned, holding her head. Then an all-so-familiar voice echoed through the empty street. Rose scrambled up as fast as she could and headed towards it the see the Doctor and Donna. Then she ran. She loved the running. Especially when it was running to him. Her heart ached to be held in his arms once again as she saw a brilliant grin cover his face and he began running towards her.

But then for one moment, it was all lost. A Dalek came from the side and shouted out it metallic battle cry and the beam grazed the Doctor. Rose looked up in anger and lifted her gun and exploded to Dalek into nothingness with her gun. She quickly threw if off and ran to the Doctor and cradled his head in her lap. Tears fell her face as she smiled at him.

"I've got you. Oh, I've missed you.", she brushed his hair away. "Look, it's me, Doctor."  
The Doctor opened his eyes and smiled through his pain. "Rose?"  
"Hi.", she grinned with her tongue peeking out.  
"Long time no see."  
"Yeah. Been busy, you know, saving the world.", she choked and held him close as he squeezed his eyes shut. "Don't die. Oh please, don't die. It took me so long. Please, Doctor, don't die."

Jack Harkness came up behind her, toting her gun. "Let's get him into the TARDIS, quick."  
Rose whipped around at his voice. "Jack?"  
He didn't say a word as he picked up the Doctor behind the shoulders, and she hurried to pick up his legs. They awkwardly got him to the TARDIS as fast as they could, where Donna followed them inside.

" What do we do?. There must be some medicine or something."  
"Just step back.", Jack commanded as Rose tried to go to the Doctor again. "Rose, do as I say and get back. He's dying and you know what happens next."  
"What do you mean? He can't-", Donna asked, mystified.  
Rose ran to Jack, who enveloped her in a hug. "Oh, no. I came all this way, Jack. It took me so long."  
Donna looked between them and the Doctor."What do you mean, 'what happens next?'"

The Doctor's hand started to glow as he murmured about it starting.  
"Here we go. Good luck, Doctor.", Jack said as Rose disentangled herself from him.  
"Will someone please tell me what is going on?"  
"When he's dying, his body, it repairs itself. It changes.", Rose looked up at the Doctor .  
"I'm sorry, it's too late. I'm regenerating.", the Doctor said as his hands and head starting glowing gold. Twisting just a bit, he pointed his hands towards a jar with his old hand. The energy flowed from his hands into the jar, which a absorbed it. Jumping back up, he grinned at the trio on the other side of the room.

"Now then. Where were we?", he asked. "I believe I was saying hello." Jack, Donna, and Rose simply stared at him as he walked over the jar containing his hand. "You see? I used the regeneration energy to heal myself, but soon as I was done, I didn't need to change. I didn't want to. Why would I? Look at this hair.", he motioned to his head. "So, to stop the energy going all the way, I siphoned off the rest into a handy bio-matching receptacle, namely my hand. My hand there. My handy spare hand. Remember?", he turned to Rose, "Christmas Day. Sycorax. Lost my hand in a sword fight? That's my hand. What do you think?"  
Rose blinked. "You're still you?"  
"I'm still me.", he reassured her with a grin, knowing that the question was more than just from him almost regenerating.

Rose grinned and ran to him. He held her close and buried his nose in her hair.  
"I missed you so such.", she cried into his jacket whilst squeezing the life out of him.  
"I know, I know. Me too.", the Doctor choked. "Everyday."  
"I'm sorry it took me so long to get back.", she laughed tearfully, pulling back and wiping her eyes.  
He smiled as he brushed her hair and tears away. "Didn't take you all that long, Rose Tyler, my impossible girl."  
"Yours?", she asked with her tongue sticking out of her grin.  
Resting his head against hers, he answered her question with a smile. "Forever."

She was about to remind him of her love when the lights went out and the Time Rotor fell. They all lost their footing as the TARDIS jerked.

"They've got us. Power's gone. Some kind of chronon loop.", the Doctor said after inspecting the console screen.  
"There's a massive Dalek ship at the centre of the planets. They're calling it the Crucible.", Jack offered, "Guess that's our destination."

"You said these planets were like an engine. But what for?", Donna asked.  
"Rose-", the Doctor turned to the blonde girl, "-you've been in a parallel world. That world's running a bit ahead of this universe. You've seen the future. What was it?"  
"It's the darkness.", she shrugged, "The stars were going out. One by one. We looked up at the sky and they were just dying. Basically, we've been building this, er, this travel machine. It's called a dimension cannon. Well, so I could-", she trailed off.  
"What?", the Doctor asked impatiently.  
"So I could come back." The Doctor grinned manically at her and she laughed. "Shut up. Anyway, we waited to use it until dimensional walls started to collapse. Not just in our world, not just in yours, but the whole of reality. All the universes. Even the Void was opening. Probably how the Daleks got lose. Something is destroying everything."  
"In that parallel world-", Donna asked as the Doctor went back to the TARDIS screen, "-you said something about me."  
Rose paused for a moment to nibble her lip in thought and continued one quietly, not wanting " Well, I- See, sometimes I can see peoples timelines. But not the whole thing, just fuzzy bits of important stuff. Like life-and-death things. And it's weird, Donna, but they all seemed to converge on you."  
"But why me? I mean, what have I ever done? I'm a temp from Chiswick."  
"Like I said before, Donna, you're brilliant."

Before Donna could answer back, the scanner on the TARDIS beeped and the Doctor spoke up. "The Dalek Crucible. All aboard. We'll have to go out. Because if we don't, they'll get in."  
"You told me nothing could get through those doors.", Rose said, folding her arms.  
Jack looked at him disbelieving. "You've got extrapolator shielding. We installed it."  
The Doctor shook his head. "Last time we fought the Daleks, they were scavengers and hybrids, and mad. But this is a fully-fledged Dalek Empire, at the height of its power. Experts at fighting TARDISes. They can do anything. Right now, that wooden door is just wood."

Donna didn't hear their conservation as a heartbeat thumped in her ears.  
"What about your dimension jump?", Jack asked Rose, motioning to the device on her wrist, under her black jacket.  
"It needs another forty minutes.", Rose shook her head as she pulled the sleeves over her hands. "And I'm not leaving."  
"What about your teleport?", the Doctor asked Jack.  
"Went down with the power loss."  
"Right then. All of us together. Yeah. Donna? Donna?"  
Donna blinked and looked up at him. "Yeah?"  
"I'm sorry. There's nothing else we can do."  
"I know."

"They reached the door, the Doctor in front with Rose and Jack following. Donna was lagging behind.

"Well, Daleks.", Rose huffed. "Like flies, they are. Kill them and they keep coming back."

"It's been good, though, hasn't it?", the Doctor asked and Rose nodded. "All of us. All of it. Everything we've done." He turned to Jack and Donna. "You were brilliant and you were brilliant." He turned to Rose and grabbed her hand. "And you were more than brilliant. Blimey."

* * *

The Doctor felt burning in his head as the TARDIS spiralled down to her destruction. He could feel her pain, and imagined Rose could too. Her face was contorted and scrunched into a grimace.

"Total TARDIS destruction in ten rels. Nine, eight, seven, six.", the Dalek counted down as Rose fell to her knees, clutching her head, as the Doctor grabbed her. "Five, four, three, two, one."

The Red Dalek spoke up. "The TARDIS has been destroyed. Now tell me, Doctor. What do you feel? Anger? Sorrow? Despair?"  
"Yeah.", the Doctor choked as Rose relaxed in his grip.  
"Then if emotions are so important, surely we have enhanced you?"  
"Yeah? Feel this!", Jack yelled out in anger as he pulled his pistol on the Dalek.  
"Exterminate!", the Dalek called out as zapped him.

"Jack! Oh, please, no.", Rose tried to scramble out of the Doctor's arms to go to him.  
The Doctor reached out and pulled her back. "Rose, come here. Leave him."  
"They killed him. Can't we at least-"  
"I know. I'm sorry. There's nothing we can do.", he said as they were escorted to the Vault.

"They are the playthings of Davros now.", the Dalek called out behind him.

* * *

"Activate the holding cells.", Davros commanded and Rose and the Doctor were contained. "Excellent. Even when powerless, a Time Lord is best contained."  
"Still scared of me, then?", the Doctor smirked.  
"It is time we talked, Doctor. After so very long."  
"Nope. We're not doing the nostalgia tour. I want to know what's happening right here, right now, because the Supreme Dalek said Vault, yeah? As in dungeon, cellar, prison. You're not in charge of the Daleks, are you? They've got you locked away down here in the basement like, what, a servant? Slave? Court jester?"  
"We have an arrangement."  
"No, I've got the word. You're the Dalek's pet!"  
Davros turned to Rose. "So very full of fire, is he not? And to think you crossed entire universes, striding parallel to parallel for years to find him again."  
"Yes I did.", Rose spat out.  
"Leave her alone.", the Doctor commanded.  
"She is mine to do as I please."  
"Then why am I still alive?", Rose asked.  
"You must be here, Bad Wolf. It was foretold. Even the Supreme Dalek would not dare to contradict the prophecies."

An old Dalek voice croaked out from the other side of the room. "So cold and dark. Fire is coming. The endless flames."  
"What is that thing?", Rose asked looking distastefully at the new comer.  
"You've met before.", the Doctor said gravely. "The last of the Cult of Skaro. But it flew into the Time War, unprotected."  
"Caan did more than that.", Davros explained. "He saw time. Its infinite complexity and majesty, raging through his mind. And he saw you. Both of you. Together."  
"This I have foreseen-", Caan began, "-in the wild and the wind. The Doctor will be here as witness, at the end of everything. The Doctor, his precious Children of Time, and the Bad Wolf. And one will die."  
"Was it you, Caan? Did you kill Donna? Why did the Tardis door close? Tell me!", the Doctor growled.  
"Oh, that's it.", Davros mocked. "The anger, the fire, the rage of a Time Lord who butchered millions. There he is. Why so shy? Show your companion. Show her your true self. Dalek Caan has promised me that too."  
"I have seen. At the time of ending, the Doctor's soul will be revealed."  
"What does that mean?", the Doctor asked tentatively.  
"We will discover it together. Our final journey. Because the ending approaches. The testing begins."  
"Testing of what?"  
"The Reality bomb."  
"Oh, no, no, no.", the Doctor warned, "You can't do that!"

A screen appeared and people in the holding cell dissolved into nothing.

"Doctor, what happened?", Rose asked.  
"Electrical energy, Miss Tyler.", Darvos answered. "Every atom in existence is bound by an electrical field. The Reality bomb cancels it out. Structure falls apart. That test was focused on the prisoners alone. Full transmission will dissolve every form of matter."  
"The stars are going out.", Rose said. "Not just stars, but everything you touch, disappearing."  
"The twenty seven planets. They become one vast transmitter, blasting that wavelength.", the Doctor explained.  
"Across the entire universe.", Darvos said proudly, "Never stopping, never faltering, never fading. People and planets and stars will become dust, and the dust will become atoms, and the atoms will become nothing. And the wavelength will continue, breaking through the Rift at the heart of the Medusa Cascade into every dimension, every parallel, every single corner of creation. This is my ultimate victory, Doctor! The destruction of reality itself!"

* * *

"The Children of Time will gather, and one of them will die.", Caan repeated.  
"Stop saying that. Put me through!", the Doctor exasperated as the screen came to life.

"Doctor? I'm sorry, I had to.", Martha said.  
"Oh, but the Doctor is powerless. My prisoner. State your intent.", Davros commanded.

"I've got the Osterhagen Key. Leave this planet and its people alone or I'll use it."  
"Osterhagen what? What's an Osterhagen Key?", the Doctor asked.  
"There's a chain of twenty-five nuclear warheads placed in strategic points beneath the Earth's crust. If I use the key, they detonate and the Earth gets ripped apart."  
"What?", the Doctor roared. "Who invented that? Well, someone called Osterhagen, I suppose. Martha, are you insane?"  
"The Osterhagen Key is to be used if the suffering of the human race is so great, so without hope, that this becomes the final option."  
"That's never an option."  
"Don't you argue with me, Doctor! Because it's more than that. Now, I reckon the Daleks need these twenty seven planets for something. But what if it becomes twenty six? What happens then? Daleks? Would you risk it?"  
"She's good.", Rose grinned. "Companion?" The Doctor shook his head.  
"Who's that?", Martha asked.  
Rose grinned. "My name's Tyler. Rose Tyler."  
Martha gaped at her. "He found you!"  
Rose raised an eyebrow and looked at him. "Does everyone know about me?"

"Second transmission, internal.", a Dalek croaked.  
"Display."  
Jack showed up on screen with a big smile. "Captain Jack Harkness here, calling all Dalek boys and girls. Are you receiving me? Don't send in your goons, or I'll set this thing off.", he motioned to machine hooked up with wires.

"He's still here.", Rose grinned, but then her face fell. "But that's Gwen!"  
"And Mickey.", the Doctor observed "Captain, what are you doing?"  
"I've got a Warp Star wired into the mainframe. I break this shell, the entire Crucible goes up."  
"You can't! Where did you get a Warp Star?"  
"From me.", Sarah Jane spoke up. "We had no choice. We saw what happened to the prisoners."  
"Impossible. That all these years.", Darvos said almost in awe.  
"Davros. It's been quite a while. Sarah Jane Smith. Remember?"  
"Oh, this is meant to be. The circle of Time is closing. You were there on Skaro at the very beginning of my creation."  
"And I've learnt how to fight since then. You let the Doctor and Rose go, or this Warp Star gets opened.", Sarah Jane warned.  
"I'll do it.", Jack assured them. "Don't imagine I wouldn't."

"Well, that's the biggest ransom I've ever held for, Doctor.", Rose commented.  
"And the prophecy unfolds.", Caan spoke. "The Doctor's soul is revealed. See him. See the heart of him."  
Davros took over. "The man who abhors violence, never carrying a gun. But this is the truth, Doctor. You take ordinary people and you fashion them into weapons. Behold your Children of Time, transformed into murderers. I made the Daleks, Doctor. But you made this."  
"They're trying to help.", the Doctor replied.  
Davros ignored him and continued on. "Already I have seen them sacrifice today, for their beloved Doctor. The Earth woman who fell opening the Subwave Network."  
"Who was that?"  
"Harriet Jones.", Rose answered sadly. "She gave her life to get you here."  
"How many more? Just think. How many have died in your name?", Davros asked. "The Doctor, the man who keeps running, never looking back because he dare not, out of shame. This, Doctor, is my final victory. I have shown you yourself."

"Enough.", the red Dalek spoke. "Engage defence zero five."  
"It's the Crucible or the Earth.", Martha warned.  
"Transmat engaged."  
"No!", Martha yelled as she vanished and the key dropped.

"Don't move, all of you. Stay still.", the Doctor said the various people and companions.  
"Guard them!", Darvos commanded the other Daleks "On your knees, all of you. Surrender!"  
"Do as he says."

"Gwen, what are you doing here?", Rose asked her best friend from her world.  
"We couldn't just leave you after that note you left on your desk!"

"The final prophecy is in place. The Doctor, the Bad Wolf, and the Children of Time all gathered as witnesses. Supreme Dalek, the time has come. Now, detonate the Reality bomb!"

* * *

"Come on then, boys.", the Time Lord Donna said, "We've got twenty seven planets to send home. Activate magnetron."  
"Stop this at once!", Davros screeched in his metallic voice.  
Jack came running out of the TARDIS with Rose's gun, along with two others. "Mickey! Rose!"  
"You will desist!"  
"Just stay where you are, mister.", Mickey grinned with his gun resting in front of Davros.

"Good to see you again.", Sarah Jane smiled at Rose as they pushed a Dalek out of the way.  
"You too.", Rose grinned. "Can't wait to meet the kids."

"Ready?", Donna asked the two Doctors, "And reverse."  
"Off you go, Clom.", the Time Lord Doctor grinned.  
"Back home, Adipose Three.", the human Doctor said.  
"Shallacatop, Pyrovillia and the Lost Moon of Poosh, sorted."  
"We need more power!", the Time Lord Doctor frowned.  
"Is anyone going to tell us what's going on?", Rose asked while pulling her head over her head.  
"He poured all his regeneration energy into his spare hand.", Donna explained. "I touched the hand,and he grew out of that but that fed back into me. But, it just stayed dormant in my head till the synapses got that little extra spark, kicking them into life. Thank you, Davros! Part human, part Time Lord. And I got the best bit of the Doctor. I got his mind.", she tapped her head"  
"So there's three of you?", Sarah asked, disbelieving.  
"Three Doctors?", asked Jack.  
"Shut up, Jack.", commanded Rose.

"You're so unique the timelines were converging on you.", the Time Lord explained. "Human being with a Time Lord brain."  
"But you promised me, Dalek Caan. Why did you not foresee this?", Darvos asked.  
"Oh, I think he did. Something's been manipulating the timelines for ages, getting Donna Noble to the right place at the right time."  
"This would always have happened. I only helped, Doctor.", said Caan.  
"You betrayed the Daleks!", Darvos cried.  
"I saw the Daleks. What we have done, throughout time and space, I saw the truth of us, Creator, and I decreed, no more!"

"Davros, you have betrayed us.", a red Dalek said as he transmitted into the Vault.  
"It was Dalek Caan."  
"The Vault will be purged. You will all be exterminated.", the red Dalek zapped the control panel.  
"Like I was saying, feel this!", Jack said as he fired his gun at the Dalek, making it explode.

"Oh, we've lost the magnetron. And there's only one planet left. Oh, guess which one. But we can use the TARDIS.", the Doctor ran into the TARDIS.  
"Holding Earth stability. Maintaining atmospheric shell.", the human Doctor read from a screen."  
"The prophecy must complete.", Caan spoke to the human Doctor.  
"Don't listen to him.", Davros warned.  
"I have seen the end of everything Dalek, and you must make it happen, Doctor."  
"He's right. Because with or without a Reality bomb, this Dalek Empire's big enough to slaughter the cosmos. They've got to be stopped."  
"Just wait for the Doctor.", Donna said.  
"I am the Doctor.", the human Doctor said before pressing a couple of buttons. "Maximising Dalekanium power feeds. Blasting them back!"

Daleks all over the Crucible and the Medusa Cascade started exploding as the Doctor ran out of the TARDIS.

"What have you done?", the Time Lord Doctor asked his human counterpart.  
"Fulfilling the prophecy."  
"Do you know what you've done? Now get in the TARDIS! Everyone! All of you, inside! Run!"

* * *

**A/N:** Thanks to Meg for pointing out misplaced dialogue in the last chapter. This chapter's dedicated to you!


	26. Chapter 26: Missing Love, Broken Hearts

**A/N:** So this chapter is noticeably shorter, but it's kind of an end of a section. Shall we start off with a depressing poem?

* * *

_The voice returns like the insistent out-of-tune  
__Of a broken violin on an August afternoon:  
__I am always sure that you understand  
__My feelings, always sure that you feel,  
__Sure that across the gulf you reach your hand._

_You are invulnerable, you have no Achilles' heel.  
__You will go on, and when you have prevailed  
__You can say: at this point many a one has failed.  
_

_But what have I, but what have I, my friend,  
__To give you, what can you receive from me?  
__Only the friendship and the sympathy  
__Of one about to reach her journey's end._

_from Portrait of a Lady by T.S. Eliot_

* * *

Rose walked along the dimly light hallways of the TARDIS alone, dragging her hand along the warm walls to feel the familiar hum. Everyone was in the console room, moving the Earth back and planning where everyone would go.

"_Rose, are you there?"  
_The woman in question looked around her. "TARDIS?"  
_"Yes! Yes!"_, the TARDIS sent out the feeling of happiness  
Rose grinned at the ceiling. "It's nice to see you again."  
_"You too, my wolf, but there are more important matters. I must warn you."_  
She looked up, confused. "What do you mean?" A wall with a door appeared in front of her and Rose walked through it. "TARDIS?"

The room was dark, but Rose could see that it was the old library. A fireplace was off to the right, holding a small fire. Books sat on numerous shelves with different sofas and chairs assembled around them. A wall to the left looked out into space. Rose smiled at the familiar place, remembering the hours she had spent here reading while the Doctor worked.

"_He's going to take you back, Rose. He's going to take you back."_, the TARDIS sounded worried.  
Rose froze."The Doctor?"  
_"Yes, he's taking you back to the other universe with his human clone._", the ship paused for a moment. "_I can not change his mind."_  
Sitting down on the couch, she let out a choked sigh. "But I've been working so long. I thought he- Why?"  
_"He does not want to be hurt again."  
_"What about me? He's going to just send me back with his clone to where I was trapped and think I'll agree with it? I'm not that kind of girl any more. I don't have to listen to him. I'll go back with Jack if he doesn't want me, but there's no why he's sending back."  
_"It's not easy for him, wolf. He can not see the change."  
_"But it's been twenty-five years! Surely he can tell that I'm not changing.", Rose said sadly, with a few tears running down her cheek.  
_"Remember, it's only been a few years for him. The Doctor does not know how long you've been there. He thinks you will die if you stay with him."_  
Rose shook her head at the fireplace. "He has to know. He can't just leave me again. He promised.", she whispered the last part.  
The TARDIS sent waves of comfort to her poor traveller. "_What will become of his clone then? It wouldn't be safe to leave him alone."  
_"But- but it's not fair!", Rose sobbed, trying to wipe her eyes with the heels of her hands. Rose Tyler never cried.  
_"I know, golden one, but sometimes we must do things we'd rather not to get what we really need."_, the TARDIS stopped before going on. _"The other universe needs you. Think of your mum and dad, and your younger brother. Your Torchwood team. The entirety of that Earth will need one day, Rose Tyler."  
"_But what if I need him?"  
_"Those you love are with you for as long as your willing to keep them."  
_

The TARDIS was right. It was something she'd have to do. There was a job for her to do. She could not leave her responsibilities, family, or friends in the other world. She would live long enough to watch them die, and the Doctor would still be here when she got back. Rose Tyler would learn to grow up the hard way.

"How long will I live, TARDIS?", Rose asked quietly.  
_"A very long time, I'm afraid."_

Rose got up and looked around the room with a sigh. She'd would miss this place. Would it be different when she got back? Would the Doctor let her back? Barmy alien. He could've asked about leaving her. He could've explained why. But no. The Doctor did as he liked. Swaggered in like he owned the place and went back out, leaving promises that he didn't intend to keep. Rule number, she thought sadly, was not to wonder off. Rule number one is that the Doctor lies.

She grabbed a vase shaped like a ball in her anger and threw it against the stone fireplace, where it shattered into a million pieces onto the floor, perfectly representing her heart.

"May I ask why, exactly, are you throwing stuff at the TARDIS?", a familiar voice asked. It wasn't him though. He hadn't said '_my_ TARDIS', and that made all the different.  
"Does it matter any more?", she asked with a shrug of her shoulders while staring at the fire, not turning around to greet him. "No one knows and frankly, it seems no one cares."  
The clone Doctor sighed and walked into the room. "Rose-"  
"I know-", she interrupted him, "-the TARDIS told me."  
"It wasn't my idea, if that what's your wondering. I'm not even supposed to say anything about it. But that's not what I came to tell you. We're back on Earth. He wants you to come say goodbye."  
Rose turned around to meet him with tears in her eyes. "Okay.", she said quietly and followed him out of the room.

On the way back, she visited her room to grab her gun and stuff her sonic screwdriver in her back pocket.

* * *

Coming into the console room, Rose set her gun against the pilot seat where the Doctor looked at it with disdain. She ignored him and walked over to the rest of the group, who were giving each other numbers in case they needed to team up again.

"Sarah Jane's getting ready to leave, Rose.", Jack informed her as she came up to the group.  
Rose smiled at the older woman. "It was nice to see you again, Sarah. I hope Aimee is doing well."  
"You too, Rose. Nice to see you back.", Sarah Jane smiled at her. "Aimee misses you, asks about you often. Make sure you come visit us. She has a brother now too."  
"Yeah.", Rose choked as she hugged her. "Tell her I'll come see her soon. Goodbye, Sarah Jane."  
"See you later, Rose.", she smiled as she walked out the door with the Doctor behind her.

Rose wiped the tear from her eye, but Jack caught it. "What is it, Rosie."  
"It's just-", she shrugged. "I'll never see her again. Or Aimee."  
"Of course you will.", Jack chuckled. "The Doctor's not that bad of a driver."  
"You know he his.", she grinned, but the smile fell. "He's taking me back, Jack."  
Jack stared at her for a moment. "Your kidding. He'd never do that."  
Rose shook her head and leaned into his embrace. "He is, Jack, and there's nothing I can do. He doesn't even know how long it took. All the things I had to do. It's all gone.", she whispered.  
"Rose-", the man choked as she looked up. "-it means I'll never see you again."  
She shook her head. "Someday you will. I just don't know when.", she kept her voice in a whisper as the Doctor came in to set new coordinates for Cardiff.  
"How?"  
"It's hard to explain, Jack, but while I'm gone-", she said as the TARDIS landed, "-I just want you to know that you're the best big brother I've ever had. Look after him, will you?"  
"Of course. And you're the best little sister I've ever had.", he laughed into her hair and then finally let her go. "Well, Doc, is it time to go?"

The Doctor grumbled a yes as Jack saluted Rose. "Well, Commander Tyler, until we meet again."  
Rose laughed wetly and saluted him back before wrapping him in a hug. "Bye, Jack. Remember that you're the best big brother ever. I love you.", she cried.  
"Of course I am. And I love you too, Rose. Come visit Cardiff, yeah?"  
Rose nodded and let him go, ignoring the two Doctors' sad faces quietly sitting in the corner. Turning to Martha, she wiped her face and grinned.  
"I know that I'm a right mess, but I just wanted to say that you're brilliant."  
Martha smiled awkwardly at her. "Thanks. It's nice to meet the legendary Rose Tyler."  
"No legend here.", Rose laughed. "I hope to meet you again, Martha Jones."  
"Same here.", the young doctor smiled at her before walking out.

The Time Lord Doctor smiled at Rose, who smiled sadly back, before following them out the door. Awkward silence reigned in the console room between Rose, the human Doctor, Donna, and Mickey before Rose went to the back of the TARDIS to find Gwen.

* * *

The Doctor walked back into the TARDIS with a fake smile plastered on his face.

"Just time for one last trip. Dårlig Ulv Stranden, better known as Bad Wolf Bay. Any requests?", he said turning to the Torchwood trio.  
"How long after I left did you go guys leave?", Rose asked Mickey and Gwen.  
"About two, maybe three days.", Gwen guessed.  
"June twenty-first two thousand thirty-three then.", Rose told the Doctor quietly, who nodded and set the coordinates.

As the TARDIS landed, the human Doctor and Gwen headed out first. Rose sighed and headed towards the door and laid her hand on it._"Goodbye, TARDIS."  
"There's never a goodbye, golden one. Only until we meet again."_

"Rose, you're staying?", Mickey asked confused. She simply stared at him before walking out and the rest followed.

"Oh, fat lot of good this is.", commented Gwen as the remaining four came out if the TARDIS. "Back of beyond. Bloody Norway? I'm going to have to phone Rhys. At least, Tony will be happy, Rose. He never got to say goodbye."  
"Tony?", asked the human Doctor.  
"Mum had a baby, remember?", Rose asked.  
"Oh, brilliant. So that's what you called him."  
Rose grinned. "No we actually called him Doctor."  
"Really?"  
"No, you plum. She winding you up.", chuckled Gwen, "He's called Tony."

"Hold on, this is the parallel universe, right?", Rose asked the Time Lord Doctor.  
"Yep. You're back home."  
"No, I'm not.", she said quietly so that only the Doctor would hear her. "I spent all that time trying to find you. I'm not going back now.", Rose told the Time Lord.  
"But you've got to.", the Doctor looked off into the ocean and swallowed the ever growing lump in his throat. "Because we saved the universe, but at a cost. And the cost is him. He destroyed the Daleks. He committed genocide. He's too dangerous to be left on his own."  
"I committed genocide too."  
"It's different, Rose. Don't you understand? His was born in battle, full of blood, anger, and revenge. Remind you of someone? That's me, when we first met.", he wiped one of her tears away as the others looked on. "And you made me better. Now you can do the same for him."  
"But he's not you.", she whispered tearfully.  
"He needs you. That's very me."

Rose's eyes bore into his very soul. It was the closest revelation of love he had ever made. His eyes swirled in a mix of anger, love, and sadness. The very depths of the universe were held there. Rose knew that he wanted to keep her, but as a Time Lord, he didn't allow himself.  
The Doctor saw Rose's eyes brimming with tears, and it broke his heart. She was silly ape, incapable to know how hard this really was for him. But then again, maybe she did. The gold strand of gold flickered behind her eyes that held more years than she looked. Perhaps Rose Tyler had grown up, perhaps she really did understand. One could only hope.

"But it's better than that, though.", Donna interrupted their staring contest. "Don't you see what he's trying to give you? Tell her. Go on."  
"I look like him and I think like him.", the human Doctor said. "Same memories, same thoughts, same everything. Except I've only got one heart."  
"Which means-?", Rose asked.  
"I'm mostly human. Specifically, the ageing part. I'll grow old and never regenerate. I've only got one life, Rose Tyler. I could spend it with you, if you want."  
"You'll grow old?"  
"We will together."

Rose's chin trembled. She'd brake this man's heart. Kill him once again.

"We've got to go.", the Time Lord said as the TARDIS motor revved. "This reality is sealing itself off for ever."  
"Forever.", Rose whispered. "But, it's still not right, because I'm-"  
"He's me and I'm him.", he interrupted.  
"All right then. If that's how it has to be. Both of you, answer me this. When I last stood on this beach, on the day I died, what was the last thing you said to me? Go on, say it."

Rose only wanted to hear it once. Only once. Because if this reality really did close itself off forever, she at least wanted to have one simple memory of him saying it. A long life would be hard to live with unrequited love.

The Time Lord Doctor looked at her. "I said, Rose Tyler."  
"Yeah-", she swallowed, "-and how was that sentence going to end?"  
"Does it need saying?"  
"Sometimes, Doctor, sometimes it does.", she whispered. "You, Doctor?", she turned to the human one with tears in her eyes. "What was the end of that sentence?"

The new Doctor smiled sadly and leaned over to whisper in her ear.  
"We know it's true, Rose. I'm not the same, but don't make him say it. It'll kill him."  
Rose nodded and took his hand as he leaned back, and then she heard footsteps. She turned around to see the Doctor making his way slowly to the TARDIS.  
"I need to say goodbye.", she told the human Doctor, and then she ran.

"Doctor! Doctor!"  
He turned around and shook his head. "Rose, you can't-"  
"I know, Doctor, I know.", she said sadly, stopping in front of him. "I just want to say goodbye."  
The Doctor looked out at the ocean and then back to her. "Of course. Goodbye, Rose Tyler. We were brilliant, you and me.", he choked out.  
She swung her arms around his neck and held him tight, and he returned the hug.

"I love you.", she said in his ear.  
"Rose-"  
"I know. Listen, please, Doctor. Just this once. I'll stay here and do as you say. I'll stay with him. But someday, Doctor-", she stopped to take a breath. "Someday, in a very long time, I'm gonna come back. All that I ask is that you don't forget me. Please, don't forget me."  
"I couldn't never forget you, Rose.", he whispered in her ear. "But how-"  
"Just don't forget me, Doctor. Because when I come back, I'm going to find you. Remember that I love you. Always remember that."

The Doctor pulled back with a lump in his throat. He was unable to speak, so he nodded to her. Rose smiled, tears sliding down her cheeks and landing on her black leather jacket.

"Now run, you impossible man, and don't you look back."

He smiled a weak smile and headed towards his TARDIS. As it disappeared, Rose ran towards it and left her TARDIS key grow cold under her shirt as a headache hit her head again. She stood in spot where the TARDIS had just sat.

* * *

The rain poured down on the Doctor as he stood outside the Nobles' home. He had just lost two of his best friends in one day, so the weather was the image of his mood.

"You'll have quite a bit of this. Atmospheric disturbance. Still, it'll pass.", he told Wilf with a sigh. "Everything does. Bye then, Wilfred."  
"Oh, Doctor?", Wilf stopped him before he turned completely around. "What about you now? Who've you got? I mean, all those friends of yours."  
"They've all got someone else. Still, that's fine. I'm fine."

"_Is all right special Time Lord code for not really all right at all?"  
"Why?"  
"Because I'm all right too."_

"I'll watch out for you, sir."  
"You can't ever tell her.", the Doctor warned him again.  
"No, but every night, Doctor, when it gets dark and the stars come out, I'll look up on her behalf. I'll look up at the sky and think of you."  
"Thank you.", the Doctor whispered as he squelched back to the TARDIS, not even trying to get out of the rain. He looked back one more time before returning to his TARDIS and saw Wilfred saluting. For once, he simply nodded and entered his time machine.

* * *

The human Doctor came up beside a shocked Rose and held her hand. The hand was the same temperature as her's now, maybe even a bit warmer.

"He just left me here.", she whispered, staring into blank space then she started laughing. "He just left me here after he promised he wouldn't. 'Not you, Rose' is what he said. Now look where I am. At least Sarah Jane got Aberdeen."  
"I'm so sorry."  
Rose looked up at him. "I know, but I'm the one who should be sorry."  
The Doctor quizzically looked at her. "What do you mean?"  
"Doctor, I can't- Look at Mickey and Gwen."  
He glanced over at the duo, who were on their phones, talking. "What about them?"  
"How old do they look, Doctor?"  
"Around forty maybe, but that's expected in parallel universes, I suppose."  
"I'm only a few years younger than Gwen."  
The human Doctor looked between her and Gwen. "Your not- You don't-"  
"I'm forty-seven and no, I don't age. That's what I was trying to tell him."  
"But he left you here so that- Rose, I'm so sorry."  
She snorted and plopped down on the damp sand, looking to the ocean. "I'm the one that ruined his perfect plan. He didn't even check with me to see how long it's been."

The Doctor sat down next to her on the beach.  
"I'm sorry he didn't ask you. I'm sorry_ I_ didn't ask you."  
"It's ok. I'm just worried about you. You have to get old and die while I stay young."  
"I was more worried about you having to watch people die."  
Rose was silent for a few seconds before commenting. "I try not to think about that to often.", she said barely above a whisper.

They sat that way for a few minutes before the Doctor spoke up again.  
"I have a secret too."  
Rose looked over at him and narrowed her eyes. "What's that?"  
"I have all his memories and I think like him, but it's just- I don't gave the same feelings. It's like when you get back from the Chameleon Arch."  
"Chameleon Arch?"  
"The Time Lords used to make themselves human. It-", his voiced faded out as Rose had another flashback.

"_No, please, don't make me, Irene!", Caltha dragged her feet. "It'll hurt."  
Koschei and Irene pulled the young teenage blonde along. "You have too.", Koschei grunted as they dodged behind a tree. "If your dad finds you, he'll lock you up and brainwash you. If the others find you, they'll kill you. If the Daleks find you, they'll kill you. If we use the Chameleon Arch, we can send you to Sol 3 and you'll be safe. Which would you rather it be?"  
Caltha looked up at her older sister, who had a tear running down her cheek. "Please, Caltha, you're something different, something powerful. Dad made you that way."  
"Well, he's crazy, so that doesn't matter."  
"Listen, Caltha-", Koschei hissed in her face,"-we have to do this or you die. We don't want you to do die, don't you understand?"  
Caltha nodded and they entered the abandoned building after Koschei pulled out a key and opened the door. Then they turned right and ducked down a set of dodgy stairs. A machine sat on the side of the dank room. It had been polished so that it stuck out like a sore thumb.  
"Where did you find it?", Irene asked the young man.  
He walked over and started pressing buttons. "Stole it from a TARDIS."  
"What?"  
"It was dead, in the junk yard. I didn't take it out of someone else's TARDIS, if that's what your wondering."  
Irene rolled her eyes and pulled her younger sister over. "Ok, Caltha. Sit here.", she pushed the blonde in to a seat.  
"What are you going to do?"  
Koschei looked up from his work. "Were going to turn your internal clock back and change you into a human. That why we can send you to Earth easily. We'll send the watch with you. Someday, one of us will get back to you and open it. Then you'll be you again."  
"You'll be able to grow up again.", Irene told her. "Have a real childhood, instead of being locked up in that tower."  
"But I won't remember you."  
"That's the price we have to pay."_

"Rose? Rose?", the Doctor shook the woman next to him on the beach .  
"What?", she asked as pushed his hands away.  
"Are you ok?"  
"Yeah.", she rubbed her head, "Just had a weird dream."  
"Tell me about it."  
Rose shook her head. "Nah, I don't even understand it myself. It's like when you have amnesia and you're trying to remember, but you can't understand what you remember."  
"You've had amnesia?"  
"Only once."

He was silent. "Anything else I should know?"  
Rose looked at him and smiled sadly. "I'm sure all will come out in time. What was this secret about you not having the same feeling?"  
The Doctor sighed and turned back to the ocean. "I don't have the same feelings as him. I don't-", he sighed and place a hand over her smaller one, looking down at it. "-I don't _love_ you, Rose."  
Rose sat silently for a while, pondering this revelation. She felt ripped off, but supposed it was also the other way around. "I suppose-", she began sadly, "-that we're on the same page then. I don't_ love_ you either."  
"I guess we'll have to learn how.", he said quietly after a moment of silence.  
She smiled softly at him. "I'm game if your game."  
"It's a deal.", he returned the smile and grabbed her hand as they both turned back to look at the ocean.

* * *

**A/N:** I may not return for a while. I'm behind in school, so... yeah. See ya later! Leave lots ofreviews for when I come back.


	27. Chapter 27: A Whole New Universe

**A/N:** SO SORRY. Life is super busy, and I'm still not caught up with school, but I couldn't leave you hanging. ;) Sorry, someone pointed out that the Girl in the Fireplace chapter was missing. ANYWAYS, here's a large helping of Tentoo/Rose fluff.

* * *

Rose and the Doctor were sitting silently on the beach, overlooking the ocean, as a zeppelin came overheard and landed on the beach. The Doctor pulled up Rose by the hand and they started to walk towards the aircraft.

"Bit fancy, yeah?"  
Rose shrugged as she through her backpack and gun over her shoulder. "Dad's rich." He hummed in response. "When mum sees you, you might what to-"

"Rose! Oh, my Rose!", sixty-year-old Jackie cried, running over to her daughter and embracing her as hard as she could.  
"Hi, mum.", she smiled, returning her mother's hug.  
"You cross universes and I think you're not coming back. Then you do, and you just say 'Hi, mum'?"  
Rose laughed and went to hug Pete. "What else am I supposed to say?"  
"Maybe an explanation would suffice?", joked Pete.

The next sound Rose heard was a slap, and she whipped around to see the Doctor holding his cheek.  
"Mum! Why'd you hit him?", she inspected the Doctor's face, him being thoroughly shocked.  
"WHAT, IN THE NAME OF LOVE, IS HE DOING HERE?"

"He's staying, mum."  
"He'll drag you off his space ship again!"  
"No, mum, he won't."  
"How can you be so sure of that?", Jackie asked with her hands on her hips.  
"It's gone.", the Doctor and Rose sadly said in unison.

Silence hung in the air as the Doctor completed the surprising change in Jackie and Pete.

"It's a long story, can we get going?", Gwen impatiently asked, pocketing her phone.  
"Yes",Pete answered and then turned back to the two in question. "You can tell us what happened on the way."

They nodded together as they all set off towards the zeppelin.

* * *

By the time they landed at Torchwood, everything was dark and the night shift had already taken place of the usual people.

"I suppose you'll have to meet everyone later.", Rose told the Doctor as they walked down a pristine white hallway. "I just have to grab my keys and then we can go. I'm starving. What about you?"  
The Doctor only hummed in response as he looked around suspiciously.  
"You're worrying me, you know. Usually you won't shut up.", she playfully bumped her hip into him.

He gave her a half smile. The Doctor knew it matter of time before she realised what had happened and what it meant. It would hit her like a brick wall and then she'd hate him. Possibly forever. Not that it was _his_ particular fault, but still. He was somewhat still the Doctor. More of a twin brother really, since he was half Donna too, and also completely human.

* * *

Rose sighed as she unlocked her flat. The key was being stupid. Again. She really needed to get a new one.

"Well-", she began as she flipped on the light to the livingroom, "-I'll see what we have to eat. Just don't expect anything fancy. I usually live off of Torchwood's cafeteria or my mum's cooking, and neither one is any good."

The Doctor chuckled as he looked around the living room. It was painted TARDIS blue and cream. A chocolate brown sofa and recliner with a stack of papers on the seat sat around a coffee table covered in papers, books, pencils, and a calculator. Crumpled wads of paper covered the floor under it. A small telly sat across from coffee table and sofa. In the corner, there was a lamp that illuminated the room. Pictures of the Tyler family and Torchwood workers covered the blue wall along with certificates of some kind. He went over to investigate.

"I don't know what I have.", Rose said as she threw her keys and backpack on the breakfast bar that separated the livingroom and kitchen. She opened the door of the fridge and pulled out a plastic container. "Mom's Sheppard pie? That's got to go.", she threw it into the bin and pulled out a Chinese take-out container which she threw in too. "Probably don't want this either." She looked at the empty fridge (With the exception of tartar sauce and ranch.) in disgust.

"Stanton?", a male asked and Rose backed up to see what he was looking at.  
"Yep. Four years."  
"For what?"  
"Engeering.", she turned back to look in the fridge.  
He looked at the other frames on the wall that read Oxford and Cambridge. "At all of them?"  
"I wanted to get back."  
"Ah.", he was silent for a few moments and then chuckled as he picked up some of her notes off the coffee table. "You're brilliant, Rose Tyler."

"Thanks.", she grinned to the freezer as she pulled out a box of frozen egg rolls. "Seems like we have three egg rolls, ice cream, and tea for dinner. Is that okay?"  
"I was sure you'd have an endless supply of chips."  
"Funny, you are.", she said as she dumped the contents of the box onto a plate and placed it in the microwave. "I'll have you know that I eat healthy now."  
He smirked and sat down on the couch to look at the books on the table. "And that's way we're having egg rolls and ice cream for dinner?"  
Rose pressed a button and the machine started humming. "I simply ran out of food. Happens all the time."  
"Right."

Silence hung in to air and Rose decided to head to head to her bedroom to change into sweats while the Doctor seemed engrossed in one of her old textbooks. When she came out, he was poking around in the kitchen.

"I wish I had my sonic.", he whined, "-I could upgrade all your kitchen appliances."  
Rose, now in grey sweats and a Torchwood t-shirt (That had been made because of one of her and Jack's inside jokes.), smiled and walked over to the breakfast bar. "Good thing I stole this then.", she pulled out her sonic screwdriver and handed it to him.  
The Doctor gaped at her. "How did you get it without him noticing?"  
She frowned then. "He was dead. Remember Donna's parallel world?"  
"Oh, yeah.", he mumbled, rolling the sonic over in his hands. "Where was it? How did you find it?"  
"It was under my pillow."  
"In the TARDIS?"

"Yeah."

"She would've been gone though."  
"I think she was. Dead, I mean. Everything was dark. I had my TARDIS key with me."  
He looked back up at her again and then at her neck. "Do you still have it?"  
Rose gave him a half smile and pulled it out from under shirt where it hung on a gold chain. "Yep. It's still even on the chain you gave me for my birthday."

The Doctor smiled softly at her and then his eyes shot up as he remembered his surprise. He stuck his hand in his jacket pocket and was about to say something as the microwave went off.  
"That'll be our dinner.", Rose said cheerfully as she walked over and opened it up. "Do you want to eat in the livingroom?"  
"Um, yeah.", the Doctor decided to wait until later to show Rose the item Donna had given him.

Rose went into the livingroom and started putting on the papers in a stack as the Doctor followed her in. "I suppose I can just put these all in a box or something and take them over to Torchwood tomorrow.", she mumbled as she placed them on the breakfast bar and went to grab the plates. The Doctor helped by setting on the books on the floor.

Half an hour later, they were sitting on the sofa with Rose's head laying on the Doctor's shoulder. She giggled when he starting ranting and raving about Star Wars inconsistencies.  
"Honestly, it's just a movie. It isn't meant to be correct.", she pointed out.  
"They could least least try though!", he waved a hand to the television.  
"I'm just glad they had the same person play Han Solo."  
"Really, Rose? That's all you care about?"  
"Well, I guess they kept Yoda too, and Leia still has that blaster."  
The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Your missing the _entire_ point, Rose."  
"It was this or The Notebook, Doctor."  
He was quiet for a few moments before saying something. "Not Doctor."  
"What?", Rose quietly asked, surprised.  
"I haven't helped anyone, Rose. I don't deserve that name."  
She sat up and looked at him sadly. "What am I supposed to call you then?"  
"Theta."  
"Theta?"  
"My name from the Academy."  
"Oh."  
"Only you can call me that though.", he smiled at her as she laid her head back down.  
Rose grinned like a manic at the TV. "Yeah?"  
"Yeah."  
She chuckled and then asked, "What is everyone supposed to call you then? 'Hey, you.'?"  
He shook his head. "Nah, I'll have them call me John Smith."  
Rose stopped her laughed. "Your kidding."  
"Nope."  
"But- But John Smith isn't even a real name!"  
"That's really mean to the kids whose parents named them that."  
"You're seriously not going to put that on your ID are you?", she lifted her head to stare at him.  
"Yep.", he grinned at her.  
"Oh, my goodness.", Rose shook her head with a grin and laid it back down. "Your a goof."  
"I thought I was a punk."  
"That too. Theta.", she said with a smile.

* * *

Newly-named John Smith laid across Rose's sofa with his stocking feet hanging over the edge. Quiet sobbing awoke him and he looked around in confusion at first. The strange room was completely dark and then he remembered where he was. The crying became louder after a thunk was heard. He knew that it had finally dawned on Rose what had happened. John threw the blankets off him and ran the the blue-doored bedroom. He opened it to find Rose kneeling on the floor in the adjoining bathroom's door-jam. Her body racked with sobs as he came over and enveloped her in his arms.

"He- He just left me."  
"I know. I'm so sorry.", he softly replied.  
"An' he'll never come back."  
He was silent before answering quietly. "No."  
"But he promised."

"I know.", Theta wrapped his arms more snugly around her. " I know, but I won't leave you, Rose."

"I wasn't trying to be selfish. I only wanted him to say it, because I knew that I'd be here and no one else would. I only wanted to remember him saying it, even if I never saw him again."  
"I know."  
"There's not even a- a Sarah Jane here."  
He looked down at her. "What do you mean?"  
"She said that- that if I ever needed someone to talk to that- that she would be there."

"There's me.", Theta softly echoed something she had said years ago.

Rose looked up at him and gave a watery half-smile. She gave a shuddering sigh and laid her head back down on his chest. "I've messed everything up. I can't age and you can."  
Theta was unsure of what to say. "We don't have to think about it right now."  
"But we will eventually. What happens when they start to think I'm your granddaughter?"

There was silence except for Rose's sniffling.

"Will you stay with me that long?", he asked quietly.

"Yes."  
"Then it won't matter."

It was quiet once again before she spoke up.

"I'm sorry."  
"For what?"  
"For everything. I can't age. Your human now. You've lost the TARDIS and your friends. Your in a strange universe with no way to get home."  
Theta held her tighter and then smiled through his own tears. "I've got you. That's all I need."  
"Is it really though?", she sat back up to look him in the face.  
"It will be, Rose.", he smiled, placing a hand on her cheek. "It will be."

She looked at him sadly before sighing and wiping her face. "We should go back to bed. No doubt that mum wants us to come over tomorrow."

John stood to help her up. He turned off the light to the bathroom and was getting ready to walk back out to the living room.  
"Doct- Theta?"  
"Yes?"  
"Would you mind if- Could you stay with me?"

He furrowed his brow and turned around. "Are you sure?"  
"I'm tired of being alone.", she said quietly.

Leaving the door open to let the grey light from the livingroom come in, he climbed on top of the dark purple covers beside Rose, where they fell soundlessly asleep.

* * *

Rose woke up burrowed in her warm blankets. She cracked an eye open and jumped back at seeing Theta, but then remembered last night's occurrences. Smiling, she watched him sleep. Rose had only watched the Time Lord version of him sleep a few times when they held each other's nightmares at bay. He seemed so peaceful when he forgot the weight of the universe on his shoulders for one moment in time.

Frowning, she remembered that he wasn't a Time Lord any more, but a human. How would he feel about that? He had considered humans "stupid apes" and had often called her that out of jest until he regenerated. Would he be disgusted at being a human now?

She also felt torn between the two. Rose felt bad for Theta, because he had lost everything and everyone he knew of, but she also missed (and was slightly mad at) the Time Lord who she had spent the last two decades looking for. She had no idea of what to think of the situation, if she were to be honest with herself. Rose had promised the Doctor that she would learn to love this man. Would she really learn to love him or would it simply be a duty to the man she'd never see again?

Rose sighed in exasperation and focused back on his face that was now very awake.

"Morning.", he said groggily.  
She giggled at his messy hair. "Morning."  
"What is it?", he drawled out, running his hand over his face as he rolled onto his back.  
"Your hair."  
He smirked at her and ran his hand through his hair, ruffling it further and making Rose laugh. "Isn't it brilliant?"

"The best.", she smiled and moved to disentangle herself from the covers. "We need to find some breakfast and go shopping."  
"I'm more than okay with breakfast, but shopping? Don't make me go, Rose.", he whined.  
"Then I'll just leave you with my mother."  
"You wouldn't dare.", he told her as she pulled out clothes from the dresser.  
Rose grinned at him before heading into the bathroom. "Watch me."

John wrinkled his nose at the closed door and then smiled as he got out of bed. Shopping with Rose wasn't _that _bad, as long as she knew what she was looking for. He used this chance to locate his suit jacket and dig out his piece of TARDIS coral. Rose would be enthused at knowing they were going to have their own TARDIS. Or at least he hoped she would be. Maybe she was happy with just staying on Earth and eating toast and beans.

No, she couldn't be, he thought. A person doesn't spend twenty-five years looking for someone if they really don't want to go back to that life.

He sat down on the couch to delve into his mind. He wasn't telepathic, he was sure of that. He would've felt Rose in his mind already. John was entirely human except for his mind, which wasn't _quite_ as big as before, but bigger than most humans would be. He still had all of his Time Lord knowledge and memories, but they had no emotional attachment. The Chameleon Arch analogy was a good one. His childhood, the academy, the Time War, Torchwood, Bad Wolf Bay, the library, they were all there. He _knew_ there used to feeling about them, but now he felt like a walking biography. It was confusing and, admittedly, frustrating.

It really wasn't fair, he decided, but then again, it wasn't fair to Rose either. They both were in the same boat. They both were in the wrong universe and there was no TARDIS (Yet, he reminded himself happily). Their friends were in the other universe, but at least Rose had some here, along with her family.

In just twenty hours though, he had already formed emotional attachment to Rose (and the lack thereof for her mother, who probably felt the same). It couldn't be that hard really, except for the fact that Rose could age. Would she always be thinking forward, as he had, and push him away? Or maybe she'd be more of a man than he was and not be afraid to love. If there was one thing he knew about Rose Tyler, it was that she was able to look past so many things in order to love a person. The thought brightened him and he knew that if he believed in one thing, it was her.

His thoughts were interrupted by Rose coming out of the bedroom. Her hair was now brushed, fresh make-up applied (a lot less than what he remembered), and she was dressed in black slacks and a green shirt.

"What's that?", she asked  
John jumped up with a huge grin. "This, my dear Rose Tyler, is our ticket out of here."  
Rose's brow furrowed as she looked up from digging her wallet out of her backpack. "What?"

"Look at it.", he gently placed the coral in her hand, "What do you think it is?"  
She couldn't help but smile at his enthusiasm, but her mouth hung open when she realised what it was. "Why, it's a piece of TARDIS coral!" Rose stared up at the grinning man. "Where did you get it?"  
"From Donna."

"It'll be nice to have a piece of home.", she said longingly.  
"Not just a _piece_ of home, but a new one.", John bounced back and forth on his heels.

Rose's mouth opened and closed. "You- You mean we-", she motioned between them, "-we can have our own TARDIS from this?", she held up the coral.  
"Us?", he raised an eyebrow and smirked.  
"Well, I mean- if you would want to-"  
He laughed and cut her off. "I wouldn't mind sharing a TARDIS with you Rose Tyler. Maybe I'll even teach you how to drive."  
Rose stood gaping at him before she squealed and gave him a hug, which he readily returned.

"C'mon then.", she grinned, throwing her bag over her shoulder and grabbing his hand, "Let's go shopping."

John groaned as he let himself be dragged out of the flat.

* * *

**A/N: **I've actually started watching Doctor Who. I'm working on the classic episodes first. I must say, Susan is quite dramatic. No wonder she fit in a highschool so well. xD

**_POLL:_ Should I get straight into series three, or explore Pete's world a bit?**


	28. Chapter 28: First Wedding of Rose Tyler

**A/N**_: _Last of the John/Rose fluff. Until you get to the end. Haha.

* * *

_A year later..._

Rose sighed as she knocked on the dark blue door of John's flat. He had gotten his own after a week or two in Pete's world. They would've just shared or gone to live in the Tyler mansion, but idea of the press learning of it and twisting their own story was hardly alluring. Gossip columns, magazines, and news reporters all followed the Tyler family closely, especially the Vitex heiress and her 'boyfriend'. The family was rich and strange and provided endless satisfaction to their readers. Jackie, of course, loved the attention. Pete, John, and Tony ignored it. Rose hated it with a passion. They followed her because 'she really wasn't a part of the family', but still happened to be inheriting half of Pete Tyler's wealth.

The first time she had been left in this world, they had to spin a story for her. Jackie Tyler was kidnapped by Cybermen, suffered from amnesia (and only half-way recovered), and was finally rescued by Rose, who was an orphan. The Tyler's took her in because they felt sorry for her and she became their daughter.

Twenty-six years in this parallel world and she had barely changed.

It unsettled some people at Torchwood, but most of the public dubbed it as good genes and ignored it. For that, Rose was thankful. She'd face forever when it came. Sometimes though, Rose realised that it was slowly sneaking up on her. She decided to ignore it for now in pursuit of her job and developing love life.  
It had been a year since she had seen that beach and things looked rather promising. At first, it was awkward and hard for John Smith and Rose Tyler to get along, but soon they were holding hands and laughing like old friends. Months passed and hands become arms around waists that lead to forehead kisses. It was the slow path and that's how they decided to take it. Rose Tyler and John Smith, together.

Still, she secretly despised his name. He had been so tetchy in the beginning, she had let it slide and now she wished she hadn't. But while thinking about being Mrs. John Smith, Rose found out that she didn't mind it at all. That was, of course, if Theta would ask her to marry him, she thought with a sad smile. She still wasn't quite sure of his thoughts on that.

But enough on the future, she decided. They had an hour to get to Torchwood. Rose pulled her keys from her jacket pocket and locked the door after dropping a Tesco bag the welcome mat that was upside down.

"Up and at 'em, Sunshine.", she called cheerfully after flipping on the light to the hallway and John's bedroom. The groan emitting from the bedroom told her that he was starting to wake up. With a smile, she dropped the grocery bag on the kitchen counter and preceded to turn on the light. What she found made her smile fall. The kitchen was a mess and books and papers covered the small kitchen table that was in front of the sliding door. Rose made a mental note to come over and help him clean up tonight. Time Lord or human, men were messy.

With undignified plop, Theta, still dressed in flannel pyjamas and a t-shirt, placed himself at the counter while Rose opened the blinds to let the light from the rising sun fall into the kitchen.

"Don't call me sunshine.", he mumbled through his arms.  
"What's that, dear?", Rose asked a tongue-in-teeth grin, "I can't hear you if you don't speak up."

"You heard me.", came a clearer reply.

Rose smiled and set the water to boil as she pulled out ingredients for a breakfast shake. "Honestly, Theta. You need an alarm clock."  
"I don't need one.", he yawned, running a head through his hair. "I have you."  
She rolled her eyes. "What if I'm sick or something?"  
"Too bad then, I suppose.", he shrugged.  
"Lazy bum."

He just grinned as she started up the blender and pulled out two mugs.

"Off you go then.", Rose waved him off to the bedroom. "Get dressed. You're not going to work in flannels."  
"Imagine if we did have pyjama day.", he said thoughtfully while heading off to the bedroom.  
"Probably not a good idea, although it does sound fun."  
"You'd wear your pink turtles ones, wouldn't you?", he called through the doorway.

Rose smiled sadly. He remembered her favourite pyjamas. They were soft, pink, fluffy, comfortable, and covered in green turtles. The Doctor had brought them for her birthday from the 42nd century. And they were still on the TARDIS. Maybe. She'd have to get another pair like them as soon as their TARDIS was grown.

"Not likely.", she answered as he shut the door.

* * *

"See what you dragged me out here to do? Absolutely nothing.", John smirked as he threw another paper ball into the wire bin.  
"At least you get paid", Rose said seriously while sitting at the large desk signing paperwork.  
"And you get health benefits", Gwen added, staring at a computer screen, "So what're you guys up to tonight?"

John smiled and fiddled with the small box in his pocket. He had reservations for tonight at a Greek restaurant.

Tonight, he would ask Rose Tyler to marry him. The only problem was how to ask. How did you ask to marry the girl you technically had broken the heart of four, or was it five, times? How did you ask her when you're just a clone, a repeat, of the man she loved? Yes, it had been a year. Yes, their relationship was going splendidly. In fact, she hadn't even mistakenly called him the Doctor, not even once. She knew that he wasn't _him_, and that made all the difference. Theta just didn't know if Rose was ready for the next step.

There was another thing parallel to the previous relationship. They successfully avoided the subjects that needed the most talking about.

John treaded the path of his and Rose's relationship carefully after learning more about Rose's past. She had slowly opened up to him, unlike she had the Doctor. He figured it was because he gave her all his secrets. In love, Rose gave everything she had to a person, even if they couldn't, or wouldn't, give back themselves. But when it came to giving pieces of herself, the little dark secrets and scarring memories, she was a give-take kind of person.

He had learned of her mum's abusive boyfriends, bullying in her neighbourhood and at school, and of her inferiority complex. (Not that he called it that out loud.) In turn, she had learned of Galllifrey, his young life, and previous companions. The only problem was that there were no emotions attached to his memories, while heaps of them were attached to hers. Especially of those involving Jimmy Stone. They had almost talked about the other night, but he had clammed her up with one false move. It had been decades for her, but somehow the rotten stench of this rock boy had been permanently seared in her mind. It had to be awful, he guessed, but John hoped it was nothing more than a he-left-you-another-girl scenario. (But it couldn't have been that. He remembered the French aristocrat after all.)

No matter what it was, he knew that they could work through it, and that Rose would say yes to his question.

Or at least he hoped she would. He felt bad for ruining her life. Rose's world would have been so much different if he hadn't existed. But for someone twisted reason, she stayed with him and didn't ever complain about it. He was afraid it was only a duty. A remembrance for the Time Lord she'd most likely never see again. Then again, maybe he stayed out of duty also. He had no where else to go. So in the end, they were even. All they was each other and that had to be good enough.

"Nothing", Rose's bored voice broke him out of his reverie.  
"I made reservations for The Pantheon.", John said, throwing a ball of paper into the bin with precision.  
She looked up from her paperwork with a grin. "Really?"

Score.

He merely smirked back and took aim. "Really."  
"That's sweet of you, John."  
Gwen raised an eyebrow at the two love birds. "I'm guessing that's only for two."  
John grinned and went back to his game while Rose blushed as she picked up the ringing office phone.

"Tyler, commander of Cardiff branch number thirty-four." Gwen and John looked up when Rose groaned and her face continued to scrunch up further. "All right. Yep. We'll be over there in ten minutes." She set the phone down with a click. "Looks like we have a job outside of London."

* * *

Rose huffed and puffed as she ran around a corner and planted herself behind a wooden crate inside the ware house. A close cousin of the Slitheen had decided that London was a good place to drop in for a snack. And it's ideal snack at the moment was her. If it wasn't so dead-bent on eating her, she might of actually been flattered when it said she was pretty. Rose had no idea where John, Jack, Gwen, or Rhys were. That wasn't good. They were supposed to stick together, but somehow, her and Jack had gotten spilt up.

Hearing heavy footsteps, she readjusted her stun gun and took off down the corridor. She had just rounded and corner when someone popped out of a janitor's office and pulled her in. At first, she struggled to get free from the hands from over her mouth and around her waist, but then she noticed it was John.

"Oh, good grief. You're going to give me a heart attack someday, I swear.", she whispered harshly into the inky blackness.  
"I couldn't let it hear you scream! That would've gotten us eaten quickly."

"Just don't do it again."  
"Even if I'm saving your life?"  
"Fine. You can do that."  
"Thanks for the permission.", he said sarcastically.

"No problem."

There was complete silence (except Rose thought she could hear her heart pounding). They sat on the floor near the door, waiting to hear from the Blithleen. It was a weird name, Rose thought, but still, she had heard weirder ones before. It was too bad that vinegar wasn't working on them. He, on the other hand, was fumbling with the ring box in his pocket.

"Rose?"  
"Yeah?"

"Marry me?"

"_What?_"

"Marry me?"

Silence. He didn't know if that was a good or bad kind of speechless.

It's just that-", he sighed, "-if I die, I'd rather go knowing that I asked Rose Tyler to marry me."

Silence.

"Uh, Rose, you're not talking."

"You really want me to marry you?", her voice sounded small.  
"Of course I do." And then he heard her crying. "Er, do women usually cry?"  
Rose laughed, rubbing her eyes. "It's just that I thought no one would ever ask me that seriously."  
"You thought that I wouldn't?"  
"It's just- Well- It's not because you _have_ to, is it? I mean, when we started out, I think it was partly out of duty. I couldn't keep doing that."  
"Oh, Rose. Maybe we're both doing it out of duty, but little by little I'm learning to love you just like he did. If you don't feel the same, I underst-"

Rose showed him, that in fact, she did feel the same. She kissed him.

* * *

Later, they were in the Pantheon, laughing over how bleach had saved the day.

"I thought Gwen was crazy when she came and started spraying it with bathroom cleaner.", Rose giggled and the Doctor choked on his drink as the waitress came over, eyeing them awkwardly.

"Um, have you chosen what you would like to eat tonight?", the young woman asked.  
"A country salad and a beef gyro for each of us, please.", John nodded to her and handed her the menus. She scurried back to where she came from. "About my question earlier.", his eyes twinkled. "I take that as a yes?"  
Rose grinned. "It certainly wasn't a no."  
"Too bad that Blitheen found us right after you said yes. I could do with a couple more kisses." She blushed and looked down. "Oh, and I'm not one of the those tactless guys that proposes without a ring. I was just interrupted.", John grinned, "And I'm going to do this right this time." He stood up in his seat and tapped on his glass.  
Rose groaned and put her head in her hands. "Theta-"  
After he got the entire restaurant's attention (and everyone was whispering about who they were), John kneeled in front of Rose's chair. She blushed wildly as he pulled out a ring box from his pocket. "Rose Tyler, my beautiful companion and plus one, after everything we've been through and done, after all the times that we thought we wouldn't last, after the second, third, and fourth chances we gave each other, I would like to ask you if you would do me the honour of becoming my wife."

She smiled softly at him, a tear or two escaping her eye, and answered back. "Yes. Oh, yes I will."  
John Smith grinned as "ahh's" echoed through the air and people caught a picture or two. He opened the box the reveal a white gold ring with a diamond in the middle and a dark, TARDIS blue gem on each side. Rose held out her hand as he slipped it on ever so slowly.

"Thank you.", he whispered, laying his hand on her cheek. Then he kissed her and the inhabitants of the restaurant cheered for the couple.

Those two words, _thank you_, meant so much more than just her answer to her question. It meant thank you for taking care of him, helping him settle in this world where he had nothing, for not leaving him, giving him a second chance, for not comparing him to the Doctor, for waiting on the TARDIS to grow. It was a thank you for truly loving him, just as he would try to do the same for her.

* * *

_Three months later..._

They were placed in the spacious backyard of the Tyler mansion. The apple trees were blooming and their pink blossoms went beautifully with Rose's banquet of peonies. Her dress was modest, covering scars that only her mum knew about, and her veil. She looked a queen, John thought with a grin as she walked down the makeshift aisle, outlined by chairs and ribbon. Her dress was covered with lace and had no sleeves. The train flowed behind her and a bow sat on her back on her waist. Her face glowed and a grin spread across her face, under her veil. Theta smiled back. Rose and Theta had never felt happier in their lives.

It was the beginning of a journey. However, it was not the happily-ever-after type. It would be heart-breaking and sad. But for now, it was enough.

* * *

**A/N:** Next time: Season three.


	29. Chapter 29: Aimee Bakes

**A/N: **Now, now. Be patient my followers. Remember that finals are all in the next few weeks. Here's a bit more OC for ya'. And we tie into the third season. *Starts up _Be Prepared_ from _The Lion King_*

* * *

_Two years from the Dalek invasion, in the original universe..._

Two years. Two years of travelling the universe, saving people, and walking away, not answering questions or dealing with the aftermath. Years of being alone, which should have been normal, but it didn't feel so.

Two years without her and many more to go.

The Doctor sat back in his "Captain's Chair", as she had called it. Quite frankly, he had no clue of what to do with himself any more. His latest trip, once again to Victorian London on Christmas, had left him unsettled.

"_I take it this is goodbye."_

"_Onwards and upwards."  
"Tell me one thing. All those facts and figures I saw of the Doctor's life, you were never alone. All those bright and shining companions. But not any more?"_

_He took a deep breath. "No."  
"Might I ask why not?", Lake asked inquisitively. _

_"They leave", he gave a sigh, "Because they should."_

_Susan. Was she still alive? Of course, she must be. She was a Time Lord. And what Sarah Jane? She had a family, a job. She was happy too._

"_Or they find someone else."_

_Rose and his clone. They'd get to live the one adventure he'd never have. Two and a half kids, spilt level, white picket fence, and a minivan. She would probably forget him, or at very best, pretend he never existed. How it hurt. _

"_And some of them- Some of them forget me."_

_Donna, his would-be sister. How he hated to have taken that knowledge from her, to make her insecure again._

"_I suppose in the end, they break my heart."_

He thought about that later. They had all left, but at what price? And had they really wanted to? The Doctor himself had locked Susan out. He had dropped off Sarah Jane (in Aberdeen of all places). Forced Rose into the other world when she obviously wanted to stay. Maybe he broke his own hearts. He didn't know really, even in his super-sized Time Lord brain it was confusing. Happens when you live too long, he supposed.

The Doctor started to pinch the bridge of his nose until he flew out of his chair as the TARDIS jerked. He stood up from the grating and hopped up next to the console.

"Where are we going, old girl? Distress signal?", he looked at the screen.  
_"No. I'm taking you to Earth."  
_"TARDIS, no. Don't go there.", the Doctor said through gritted teeth while trying to mess with the controls.  
"_You need someone, Doctor_.", the ancient ship said sadly as she landed with a thump. "_Thirteen Bannerman Road, Earling, London, United Kingdom."_

The Doctor stared silently at the doors, trying to think of what was there. "TARDIS, if think is some kind of joke to get me to talk to Jack-"  
_"It's not, my Thief. Remember that I can see the future. Just trust me." _

The Doctor sighed, grabbed his coat, and headed out the door.

* * *

The Doctor peeked his head around the gate of the well-kept yard. There were no cars in the driveway. He secretly hoped no one would be home so he could go back to the TARDIS and his personal pity party. He confidently walked up the long drive and looked up at the large house. Stopping at the white wooden door, he rapped on it three times. The Doctor heard a higher voice yell something that he couldn't make out and then a male voice responding. Suddenly, a pair of bright blue eyes and blonde hair popped up through the door window. They disappeared and the door opened.

A girl (about thirteen, he guessed) answered the door with a large grin. She only came up to his chin. Her blonde, almost white hair was braided and laid over her shoulder. Freckles fell across her lightly-complexioned nose and cheeks. She wore a dark blue t-shirt with _Park Vale Comprehensive School _printed on the front, stonewashed jeans and white socks. A little bit of flour, or so he guessed it to be, was smeared on her shirt and a bit on her nose.

"Oh, Doctor, it's you!", she opened the door wider. "Come in."  
Cautiously, he stepped through the door and entered a large airy living room with a piano and flat screen telly. Pictures and certificates lined the walls. The Doctor wrinkled his nose the domesticity of the place until he noticed who was in the pictures. Sarah Jane. Sarah Jane, a ginger boy, and a blonde girl who must be-

"Luke, come down and meet the company!", she commanded up the stairs.  
"In a little bit, Aimee, Mr. Smith and I are busy", was the reply.

Aimee rolled her eyes and motioned to the kitchen. "Come into the kitchen. I'll start tea and- Oh, you better takes your shoes off first. Mum doesn't like it when we get mud on the carpet. I was just making some fairy cakes. Do you want one?"

The Doctor silently followed the girl to the sunny yellow kitchen. The first thing that hit him was the smell of cake. Second we're the glass doors in the dining room and a window above the sink let the sunshine flow in freely. A dark table near the doors seated four, but Aimee motioned to seats at the island in the middle of the room.

"You can sit there for now if you like. Mum isn't here right now, but I'll call and see if she wants to come home early. What kind of tea do you like?", she rambled on as she climbed up onto the counter and opened the cupboard. "We have breakfast, green, Earl grey, and- Well, I think that's it." Aimee looked back and him expectantly and noticed that he still stood shell-shocked in the doorway. The Doctor was slightly surprised by Aimee. Last he'd known, she was shy and quiet and not wanting to be left with Sarah Jane. Apparently she had adapted well to human culture. He shook off his apathy and gave her a grin.

"What kind do you like?"  
"Green, with ginseng and honey."  
"I'll have the same."  
"Are you sure?", she asked, climbing down the counter with the green tea can in her hand. "I can make a different kind if you like."  
"No, it's fine.", the Doctor mumbled as he inspected the family calendar on the wall.  
"Right then", Aimee filled up the kettle and set it on the stove. She carefully opened the oven and closed it without making a sound.

2015.

"How old are you, Aimee?", the Doctor asked while seating himself at the island and pulling out his sonic screwdriver.

"Fourteen. My birthday was last week.", she smiled, collecting two hot pad holders to pull out the cakes.  
He scanned the house for any sign of alien activity. The Doctor found none, save for Aimee, Luke, and K9. "What's today's date?"  
Aimee looked at him strangely, sitting her cakes down on the counter, and then smiled. "Sorry, I forgot. Time traveller. It's March twentieth two thousand fifteen."  
He pressed his lips together and pocketed his screwdriver. "Anything weird going on?"  
"Not unless you mean the readings from Royal Hope, but I'm not supposed to know.", she answered with a grin and shut off the oven. She poured hot water over a tea bag inside a red mug. Handing it to the Doctor, she started out of the room. "I'm going to call mum, I'll be right back."

The Doctor watched her leave. There was no strange readings in the house, no alien activity except those who lived here, and nothing weird going except at the hospital. Why had the TARDIS brought him here?

_You need someone, Doctor._

* * *

"Mum?", Aimee asked into the white phone.

"_What is it, Aimee? Jack and I are trying to figure out something here and I think we almost have it."_

"The Doctor's here."

"_The Doctor?_"

"Yes, mum. Only something's wrong. He's not talking much except to ask questions. I can feel him. He's sad, mum."

Sarah Jane sighed on the other end of the line. She was glad for her daughter's telepathic abilities sometimes. It really helped them out, but right now was not the time for the Doctor to show up unless he was here to help. She knew why he was sad (Jack had told her what he did) and frankly, it was his fault. Hadn't she told him not to let Rose go? Yes, she did feel bad for the Time Lord, but at the same time she was slightly miffed with him. She wasn't about to rub it in his face though.

"What should I do, mum? Are you coming home?"  
"_We've got to work on this, Aimee."_

"I could bring him, mum."  
"_To Torchwood?_"  
"Yes, maybe he'd even let me ride in the TARDIS again!", Aimee grinned at the thought.  
Sarah Jane smiled at her enthusiasm. "_That's a good idea. Only I don't think you should take the TARDIS into Torchwood. I don't think Owen, Gwen, and Ianto would like the surprise. Jack still hasn't told them about the Doctor, stubborn man. Have him park it somewhere_."  
"Mum, won't Jack be mad to see him?"  
A sigh once again came from the other end. "_I'll tell him, Aimee. Just don't let the Doctor out of your sight. We need him to figure this out._"  
"Ok, see you in a bit. Love you."  
_"Love you too. Bye." _

Aimee pressed the end button and ran into the kitchen where the Doctor was absent-mindedly playing with his tea.  
"Sorry to make your tea time so short, but we've got to get to Cardiff."  
The Doctor looked up and . "Cardiff?"  
"Yes,Cardiff in Wales? My mum's there with Uncle Jack and they need help.  
He choked on his tea and quickly recovered as she grabbed her light pink hoodie from a back of a dining chair. "_Jack_? As in Captain Jack Harkness?"  
"Yes, as in Harkness. Let me grab my trainers and we can go."

She darted out of the room and the Doctor followed her to the front door. "How exactly are you going to get there?"

"In the TARDIS, of course.", she answered, tying her laces.  
"But-"  
"Come on-", she almost bounced up on her heels and pulled him out the door by the hand, shutting it behind her and pocketing her cellphone. "-Unless you object to me riding in it.", she finished sadly.  
"No, no, of course not. But why exactly am I needed in Cardiff?"  
"They need your help.", she said matter-a-factly.  
"One word I never refuse.", he smiled and grabbed her hand and they headed down the street.

* * *

Aimee hadn't expected that the effect of the TARDIS on her mind would be so overwhelming. She sat on the grating, wiping tears from her eyes. She had collasped when she came in. The TARDIS filled the empty spaces in her mind with motherly love where it had been so lonely for so long.

"Are you okay?", the Doctor scanned her with the sonic screwdriver.  
"Yes.", she wiped her eyes. "It's just that- It's so lonely, you know? And she fills it."  
"What?"  
"My head, my mind. It's always so lonely because no one else is telepathic."  
The Doctor stopped sonicing her and stood up. "Right, I forgot. You're telepathic. Wonder why I didn't feel it.", he mumbled the last part to himself.  
"It's barricaded. I don't want random aliens getting in there, you know?", Aimee tapped her head after standing.  
He smiled at her. "Of course. Now off to Cardiff we go. Where are we landing?"

"Roald Dahl Plass."  
"Isn't that a touristy place?"  
"Well, yeah, but Torchwood's underground underneath the-"  
His hands paused on the button he was about to push. "_Torchwood?"_

"Yes, anyway-", she stopped when she noticed the stormy look in his eyes. "Oh, oh, no. It's different now, Doctor. See the old one, it-"  
"Jack and your mother have some explaining to do.", he interrupted as he wildly ran around the console.  
"Doctor, listen, it's not like the Torchwood at Canary Wharf. That one's gone. This one's different. Jack runs it."  
"Then Jack has some _serious_ explaining to do.", the Doctor mumbled as he messed with the TARDIS screen.

"We saw the video you know.", Aimee spoke up after a few moments.

He looked up at her. "What video?"  
"The security video, of when Miss Rose fell." The Doctor's eyes went back to the screen.  
"And I know why she isn't with you here now, Doctor.", she paused before asking the question. "Why did you let her go? Why couldn't I see her?"  
"I had too, Aimee. You wouldn't understand and I'm not about to explain it to a fourteen-year-old." , he said flatly.  
"Just because I'm young doesn't mean I can't understand."  
He shook his head. "You can't understand. My life is long, her life is short. It wouldn't have worked."  
"Couldn't you have been happy with the time you had?"

_Was he seriously talking about this to a teenage girl? Hadn't he gone around in circles with the TARDIS and himself with this?_

"Maybe, Aimee, but it would hurt worse in the end."  
"Does that mean I can't love then?", Aimee asked softly.  
The Doctor looked up at her. "What do you mean?"  
"I'm going to live for a very long time, Doctor. I thought that maybe someday, someone would love me like you love Miss Rose."

_Had it been so obvious that even a child could see it?_

Sighing, he answered her. "It's your choice, Aimee."

It was silent while the TARDIS moved gently and landed.

* * *

The Doctor soniced the back door of the visitor centre open and he and Aimee sneaked in.  
"It's this way.", Aimee pointed to a lift.  
"Ah, perception filter. Brillaint.", he murmured as they entered the lift.

Aimee pressed a few buttons and they started down. They stepped out as the door opened and were immediately rushed by Sarah Jane. She and the Doctor shared a bone-crushing hug.  
"Good to see you again, Sarah Jane.", the Doctor grinned at her.  
"Same here, Doctor.", she smiled back and then turned around.

Behind her, a couple meters away, stood Jack Harkness with his arms folded and his team behind him.

"Doctor."  
"Jack.", he sighed and scratched the back of his neck. "We need to talk."  
"I agree."

* * *

Jack waved Ianto out of the room after he had given Jack and the Doctor their coffee.

"How long have you known?", Jack asked, sipping his coffee.  
"Ever since I ran away from you. Rasslion, Jack, I'm so sorry. When did you first realise?"  
"Earth, 1892. Got in a fight in Ellis Island. A man shot me through the heart and I woke up. Thought it was kind of strange, but then it never stopped. Fell off a cliff, trampled by horses, World War One, World War Two, poison, starvation, a stray javelin." The Docor winced as jakc shrugged. "In the end, I got the message. I'm the man who can never die." He looked at the Doctor accusingly. "All that time you knew."  
"That's why I had to leave you behind. It's not easy even just looking at you, Jack, because you're wrong."  
"Gee, thanks.", he huffed.  
The Doctor shook his head. "You are. I can't help it. I'm a Time Lord. It's instinct. It's in my guts. You're a fixed point in time and space. You're a fact. That's never meant to happen."  
"So what you're saying is that you're, er, prejudiced?"  
"I never thought of it like that."  
"Obviously."

The Doctor was quiet, shockingly.

"Last thing I remember, back when I was mortal, I was facing three Daleks. Death by extermination, and then I came back to life. What happened?"  
The Doctor sighed. "Rose."  
"I thought you had sent her back home."  
"She came back. Opened the heart of the TARDIS and absorbed the Time Vortex itself. No one's ever mean to have that power. If a Time Lord did that, he'd become a god. A vengeful god. But she was human, so human. She brought you back to life but she couldn't control it. She brought you back forever. That's something, I suppose. The final act of the Time War was life."  
"Ironic." _The human and act of life_, Jack thought. "Do you think she could change me back?"  
"She's gone, Jack. She's living in a parallel world. The walls have closed."  
"I know. I'm sorry."  
"How do you know?"  
"She told me."  
The Doctor sputtered his coffee. "But she couldn't' have known. She didn't know until we headed there."  
"The TARDIS told her, Doc."

Silence again.

"I went back to her estate, watched her grow up. Never said hello. Wish I could've, but timelines and all that. "  
"Yeah.", the Doctor downed the last of his coffee and stood up. "We should get going. Show me these readings."

* * *

"Why on Earth did I ever let you talk me into this?"  
Jack grinned as he filled out the paperwork. "First, they might know me. Second, your second heart will stall them. Third, we've been looking around here for weeks for what we're trying to find."  
The Doctor groaned.

* * *

**A/N:** Now wasn't that fun, random, and heartbreaking all rolled into one?

**P.S. I'd love to get to one hundred and five reviews, is that too much to ask?**


	30. Chapter 30: Jack Joins and John Vanishes

**A/N:** Woah. Ten reviews for the last chapter! Can we get ten more for this one? ;)

*Note: Please remember that this fic is very, very timey-wimey. Season four comes before season three. Sorry if I haven't made this clear. Just accept the episodes as they come.

Now, onto the hospital and character exploration.

* * *

"Now then, Mister Smith-", Dr. Stoker said as he pulled the sea-blue curtain back, revealing a a very bored Time Lord, "-a very good morning to you. How are you today?"

The Doctor shrugged. "Not so bad. Still a bit, you know, _blah_."  
"John Smith, admitted yesterday with severe abdominal pains.", the doctor explained to the students. "Jones, why don't you see what you can find? Amaze me."

Martha Jones herself came around the curtain, gaping. While listening to his two heartbeats, she whispered to him. "What are you doing here?"  
"Sorry?"  
"I asked what you're doing here, _Doctor._"  
"Distracting them.", he nodded to the doctor behind her.  
"With what, your two hearts? Your lucky I'm the one checking up on you. They'd be taking you down to cardio-"

Dr. Stoker interrupted their quiet conservation. "As time passes and I grow ever more infirm and weary. Are you having trouble locating the heart, Miss Jones?"  
"Er, I don't know. Stomach cramps?"  
"I weep for future generations. That is a symptom, not a diagnosis. And you rather failed basic techniques by not consulting first with the patient's chart.", he tried to pick up the metal clipboard at the edge of the Doctor's bed, but it shocked him, causing him to drop it immediately.  
"That happened to me this morning.", Martha sympathised.  
A young male nurse, Morgenstern, spoke up. "I had the same thing on the door handle."  
"And me, on the lift.", added another nurse, Swales.  
"That's only to be expected. There's a thunderstorm moving in and lightning is a form of static electricity, as was first proven by. Anyone?"

"Benjamin Franklin.", the Doctor answered and the teacher turned to him. "My mate, Ben. That was a day and a half. I got rope burns from that kite and then I got soaked.."  
"Quite.", Dr. Stoker sounded worried.  
"And then I got electrocuted."  
"Moving on.", he cleared his throat. "I think perhaps a visit from psychiatric would be more in line. Next we have-"

Martha shook her head and shared a grin with the Doctor before leaving.

* * *

Martha Jones, the Doctor, and Jack Harkness took a deep as they stepped out onto the balcony. Jack had rushed up to the Doctor's room as soon he saw the rain going up. There the three were reunited. Jack had seen Martha only a few times since the Dalek invasion. He had seen her work with UNIT during the fact and thought she would be a great asset to Torchwood, but every time he asked, she said she'd think about it and never got back to him.

"We've got air.", Martha declared happily.  
Jack looked around, impressed. "How does that work?"  
"Just be glad it does.", the Doctor said dryly.  
"I've got a party tonight. It's my brother's twenty first. My mother's going to be really, really-", she trailed off.  
"You okay?", Jack asked.  
"Yeah.", she turned to the Doctor. "What do you think happened?"  
"What do you think?"  
"Not sure really. I've seen tons of things with UNIT, but never something that could move us to the moon.", Martha shook her head. "Not like that spaceship flying into Big Ben or those Cybermen. It's something different." They all enjoyed the view for a few moments before she went on. "Nasty things. My cousin, Adeola, we lost her at Canary Wharf."  
The Doctor avoided the subject and pulled pebble from his coat pocket. "Let's have a look. There must be some sort of-", he threw the rock and hit bounced back from an invisible wall, "-forcefield keeping the air in."  
"But that's like a bubble sealing us in, which means this is the only air we have. What happens when it runs out?"  
"How many people in this hospital?", the Doctor questioned.  
"I don't know, a thousand?"  
Jack took in a breath sharply. "One thousand people suffocating."  
"Why would anyone do that?", Martha asked.  
"Ask them yourself.", the Doctor pointed to three massive ships in the sky. They landed and rhino-type people starting stomping out in groups.  
"It's the Judoon.", Jack whispered.

* * *

The trio had been successfully avoided the intergalactic police, but unsuccessful in finding the plasmavore. People were slumping to the floor from the lack of oxygen when they came to a stop.

"They've done this floor. Come on. The Judoon are logical and just a little bit thick. They won't go back to check a floor they've checked already. If we're lucky.", the Doctor said and Jack and Martha stopped beside him. Martha noticed Swales giving oxygen to a patient and asked how much was left, and of course, there wasn't enough.  
"How are you feeling? Martha? Jack?"  
"I'm running on adrenaline.", Martha confessed.  
"Welcome to my world.", Jack and the Doctor said at the same time.  
"What about the Judoon?"  
"Nah, great big lung reserves. It won't slow them down. Where's Mister Stoker's office?", the Doctor questioned.  
"It's this way.", she pointed down the hall where they walked a little ways before turning right into the office, finding Stoker's pale corpse and lifeless eyes.

"Drained him dry. Every last drop. I was right. She's a plasmavore."  
"What's she doing on Earth?", Jack wondered aloud.  
"Hiding. On the run. Like Ronald Biggs in Rio de Janeiro. What's she doing now? She's still not safe. The Judoon could execute us all. Come on.", he headed out the door, but Martha stayed behind to close her former teacher's eyes. Coming out into the white hall, she found the Doctor running his hand through his hair, making it stick up on end.  
"Think, think, think. If I was a plasmavore surrounded by police, what would I do?" The Doctor grinned as he noticed the glowing MRI sign. "Ah. She's as clever as me. Almost." Crashing and Judoon voices sounded down the hall. "Martha, Jack, I need you to stay here. I need time. You've got to hold them up."  
"How do we do that?"  
"Just-", the Doctor sighed and turned to Martha, "-forgive me for this. It could save a thousand lives. It means nothing, honestly."

The Doctor held the sides of Martha's face and kissed her hard. She could feel her insides turning and her toes curling. True, ever since she had met the Doctor as a child, she had a crush on him. But he was an alien, never stayed in one place for long, never asked her to come with. Martha thought she'd never even had a chance with him. Maybe she was just overreacting. Adrenaline and all that.

His mind was in turmoil as he kissed her. On so many levels in was very, very wrong. This should be Rose, his human side said. Oh, but that wasn't right either, the Time Lord in him countered. She was human, he was not. The difference was monumental, not to mention he had already placed her in a parallel world, making her immortal and untouchable at the same time. Why on Gallifrey was he even thinking of her right now? This was not the time to be dwelling on past decisions.

He turned and ran.

"That was nothing?", Jack voiced at the retreating Time Lord and the shocked med student.

* * *

Later that night, Martha was having enough of her family's fighting, and decided to take a walk. She noticed Jack and the Doctor standing on the corner down the street. After she took noticed, they turned and walked down the alley and she followed. Jack was standing awkwardly off to the side as the Doctor leaned against his TARDIS.

"We went to the moon today.", she grinned at them.  
" A bit more peaceful than down here.", Jack said.  
Martha smiled at him and looked at the Doctor. "I've meet you all these times and never asked what species?", she asked and then laughed. "I ask that practically every other day at UNIT."  
"I'm a Time Lord."  
"Not pompous at all.", Jack smirked.  
"I just thought since you saved my life and I've got a brand new sonic screwdriver that needs road testing, you might fancy a trip.", the Doctor said to Martha.  
"Into space?"  
He shrugged.  
"But I can't. I've got exams, things to do. I have to go into town first thing and pay the rent."  
"If it helps, I can travel in time as well."  
Martha bit her lip before answering. "You'd really take me?" He nodded. "But it's made of wood. There's not much room. We'd be a bit intimate."  
The Doctor waved a hand to the open door. "Take a look."

As Martha walked into the TARDIS with a grin, the Doctor turned to Jack. "Er, are you coming?"  
Jack glared at him. "Can you handle me, or will you drop me off at the first planet we visit and run?"  
"Jack, I- I'm sorry.", the Doctor ran a hand through his hair. "Leaving you there was wrong. If I could go back and change it, I'd would, but it's part of established events now."  
"I can't forget what you did, Doctor.", the immortal man said as the Doctor's face fell. "And I don't trust you like I used to, but I still forgive you." The Doctor swallowed and nodded, and then Jack grinned. "Come here."  
They shared a man hug and to Jack's surprise, the Time Lord actually choked up a bit.  
"It's good to see you, Jack."  
"Is it really?", he smirked.  
The Doctor shook his head and sighed as Martha stuck her head out of the door.

"It's bigger on the inside! I've read of it in the UNIT files, but I never it actually _could_ be. How is this room just, rammed in here?"  
"Time Lord stuff.", the Doctor waved his hand as he and Jack entered the time ship. "Right then, let's get going."  
"Do you just live her all on your own? I mean, except for Rose."  
"Well, sometimes I have guests." Jack cleared his throat. "I mean some friends, travelling alongside.. Anyway."  
"Where is Rose?", she asked. Jack tried silently warning her, but she didn't take notice.  
"With her family, someone she loves, happy. She's fine. She's- You're not replacing her."  
"Never said I was.", Martha said, feeling slightly offended and curious of where Rose went after the Dalek invasion.  
"This is just one trip to say thanks. You get one trip, then back home. I'd rather be with someone I know."  
"You're the one that kissed me."  
"That was a genetic transfer."  
"Travelled all the way across the universe just to ask me on a date."  
"Stop it."  
She grinned at him. "For the record? I'm not remotely interested. I only go for humans."  
The Doctor cleared his throat. "Good. Well, then.", he turned to Jack. "Close down the gravitic anomaliser, fire up the helmic regulator." He pulled a lever of his own after Jack did his. "And finally, the hand brake. Ready? Off we go."  
The TARDIS shook as the Doctor dematerialised it.  
"Blimey, it's a bit bumpy.", Martha exclaimed, hanging onto a hand rail.  
"Get used to it.", chuckled Jack as the Doctor sent him a death glare.

* * *

A hour or so later, the three had visited Torchwood where Jack Harkness had set everything right with his team, promising that he would be back. Martha had been shown to her own room on the TARDIS. (The TARDIS seemed to like her, but not quite as much as Rose.)  
The room was large and well lit with recessed lighting. The walls were a dark burgundy and cream. A sheer white canopy was over the full-sized bed and a window showed a view of the beach. Martha absolutely loved the room and was glad to be staying in it. (Even if it was for just one night.)  
Meanwhile, the Doctor and Jack were sitting in the TARDIS kitchen, which was also large and spacey. Jack didn't fail to notice the gold mug with pink roses sitting next the the assortment of tea on the counter, or the red apron hanging up near the door. It seemed the sentient time ship missed Rose almost as much as the Doctor did. If the situation wasn't so sad, Jack might have thought it sweet. He and the Doctor were sitting across the table from one another, each nursing a mug of steaming tea. Jack knew they were headed for another 'talk'. It was inevitable.

"So", Jack started off the conservation (he knew the Doctor wouldn't go right into it, but there were questions; questions that needed answers), "-if I can't die, am I still human?"

The Doctor sighed and studied his mug. "Honestly, I don't know. Your just- I can't quite comprehend what your are. You're human, but mixed with the Time Vortex." He leaned back in his chair. "You're going to live for a very long time. I'm sorry."  
"Don't be. I mean, you didn't do this. Did you?"  
"No. It- Rose did it when she was Bad Wolf.", he slightly spat the last name out. "Or influenced by the Bad Wolf. I'm not quite sure."  
"What do you mean when you say Bad Wolf? I've seen the words before. Actually, I've seen them a lot. Mostly around London and when I would check up on Rose."  
"It's some sort of entity that possessed Rose when she looked in the Time Vortex."  
"Ah. What exactly did she do? Besides changing me, I mean."

The Doctor blew out a breath. "She pretty much disintegrated the whole Dalek fleet."

"Wow."  
"Yeah."

"Can you change me?", the captain asked.  
"No. I'm sorry, Jack. There's nothing I can do.", the Doctor answered as Jack nodded. "I'm so sorry."

"Well, let's think of it this way, you'll be stuck with me for a very long time.", Jack grinned.  
The Doctor let out a mock groan.

There was silence while they drank their tea.

"When did she tell you I was going to take her back?", the Doctor asked him. They both knew who the 'her' was.  
"When you were saying goodbye to Sarah Jane." Jack choked up and continued on, "She told me to take care of you until she came back."

The Doctor nodded and looked down into his mug, letting a tear fall. They sat in companionable silence, reminiscing about old times and lost friends.

* * *

_2043 in Pete's World... _

Rose stared at the note in disbelief. It had been two weeks since she had found it on her Torchwood desk.

_Rose, _

_I've taken the TARDIS out for a test drive. If I'm not back today, expect me in the next week._

_Theta_

Rose was worried, properly worried. She and John had been married for about nine years now. Slowly, he was becoming more and more unsettled. Being stuck on earth, even if it was with her, wasn't good for him. He itched to get off the planet. Rose had seen it getting worse in the past year. At first, she wanted to mark it off as waiting for the TARDIS to grow, or the stress from work. Now she thought that he was becoming mentally unstable, quickly. Maybe it was the fact that they couldn't have children, or his grey hair coming in.

She pinched the bridge of her nose. The stress of Rose's job at Torchwood and worrying about Theta didn't help her headaches she had everyday since entering this universe. It was really annoying, but Owen couldn't find anything wrong.

Sitting at her desk, Rose thought about the beginning of their marriage. It had been rocky at first, Rose battling with her past and John with his insecurity. They had eventually fallen into a pattern where they helped each other and were comfortable, but in the past few years, it had become disjointed and Rose was left trying to help John with what ever was bothering him.

She thought about the second day of their honeymoon. Over lunch, they had discussed the far future. He'd asked if she wanted kids, she had asked him if he did. He did, but then she broke down in tears, declaring that she wasn't able. Her monthly hadn't happened for decades (since coming into this universe the first time) and Owen said she was infertile. They both had cried then. Theta whispered that it was okay, that maybe it was their fate in life, given the fact that their jobs were so dangerous. Still, she longed to have children, but was okay with not having them. Rose doted on her 'nieces' and 'nephews' at Torchwood instead.

Rose thought about when he first learned about Jimmy. It was their wedding day. She felt bad for being so insecure. John had held her and coaxed the story from her while she wept. She told him how Jim had promised that if she would stay with him, he would take care of Jackie, making sure she had enough money and could stay in the flat. Of course, Rose agreed and had been slowly controlled over the course of time. He banned her from a job (saying he could take care of the money), from going to school (she knew everything she needed to know already, right?), and then from seeing her friends and mum (this was the last straw, Rose decided). But by then, Jimmy had her trapped in a flat across town, away from her family and friends. He had kept a watch on her of all hours of the day. She had become a prisoner. If that wasn't bad enough, he had hit her and done unspeakable things, declaring her unworthy to go back and unworthy of love. Rose naturally believed him, seeing what she had done (left her family, friends, school, and job, all for the sake of keeping her mum in that dingy flat because she couldn't find work). She later learned what else he was involved in; drugs, alcohol, and human trafficking. The latter she learned the hard way, but was saved by the Scotland Yard who found that the trafficking ring reached further than their own London (out into all reaches of Europe). After being saved, Jimmy Stones was set in jail for a good number of years and she had never seen him again. This comforted her, but she still had suffered after the fact. Rose had starting cutting when with him and now her mum had her going to a psychotherapist. It had taken her over a year to stop that, but the nightmares and flashbacks stayed. She still had them, not quite as often, but they were still there.

At the moment, Rose was more worried about her missing husband. If he was mentally ill, who knew what he would do with the young TARDIS and the parallel universe at his hands.

Would he be back, or had he left her like co-workers had said? What would happen if he had left her?

* * *

**A/N:** Yay! Jack is joining Martha and the Doctor! And what's this in the parallel world? We've beaten down your hopes and dreams of a baby and now we vaguely know what happened with Jimmy. And John running off with the TARDIS for a test run and not coming back? Suspicious or merely coincidental? Let's hear your ideas...


	31. Chapter 31: Magic Crosses the Void

**A/N: **Sorry about the short chapter. :/ I wrote it in like an hour and a half, so...  
John isn't back yet. *worries* And Yes, dearest Guest, the Doctor will learn about the five and a half days. Just not for a long while.

* * *

In the morning, after Jack and Martha were well rested from the day before and the Doctor had his nightly vigil of sitting the library, they were fulfilling Martha's promise of on trip. The TARDIS still seemed at odds with the Doctor because the ride was more bumpier than usual.

"But how does it travel in time, I mean, what makes it go?", Martha asked the Doctor while watching him run around the console.  
Miffed by Martha still referring to his TARDIS as an it, the Doctor replied sarcastically. "Oh, let's take the fun and mystery out of everything."  
"Martha, you don't want to know. It just does.", Jack said as the time ship landed with a thump. "Blimey. Do you have to pass a test to fly this thing?"  
"You don't want to know, Jack.", the Doctor smirked and helped Martha off the floor. "I promised you one trip, and one trip only. Outside this door, brave new world."  
"Where are we?", Martha headed towards the door.  
"Take a look."

Martha stepped out side the door and grinned. It was night-time, and clean, wet laundry was hanging on makeshift wash lines. Unwashed children ran from the blue box that had appeared out of nowhere. The trio started down the dirty, medieval house lined street.

"Oh, you are so kidding me. We actually did it!", she nearly squealed and turned to the Doctor, "Where are we? No, sorry. I got to get used to this whole new language. When are we?"  
"Mind out.", the Doctor nodded to a man emptying a bucket from a second story window, "Somewhere before the invention of the toilet. Sorry about that."  
"I've seen worse.", Martha waved him off, "I've worked the late night shift in A and E. But are we safe? I mean, can we move around and stuff?"  
"Of course we can. Why do you ask?"  
She shrugged. "It's like in the films. You step on a butterfly, you change the future of the human race."  
"Tell you what then, don't step on any butterflies.", he smiled as Jack laughed and asked a question.  
"What have butterflies ever done to you?"  
"I don't know, what if I kill my grandfather?", she told Jack exasperated.  
The Doctor raised an eyebrow at her. "Are you planning to?"  
"No."  
"Well, then."  
"This is London, right?"  
"I think so. About 1599."  
Martha's brow furrowed. "But hold on, I'm I all right? I'm not going to get carted off as a slave, am I?"  
"Why would they do that?"  
"She's not exactly white, in case you haven't noticed.", Jack noted to the Time Lord.

"I'm not even human. Just walk about like you own the place. Works for me.", the Doctor shrugged, "Besides, you'd be surprised. Elizabethan England, not so different from your time. Look over there. They've got recycling." He motioned to a cart full of poo. "Water cooler moment.", he nodded to two men talking near a barrel, drinking water. A man on the corner started shouting about the end of world, and the Doctor was sure that Rose would have a witty comment for him. "Global warming. Oh, yes, and entertainment. Popular entertainment for the masses. If I'm right, we're just down the river by Southwark, right next to-" The Doctor started running and Jack and Martha followed him until they found themselves in front of a theatre.  
"Oh, yes, the Globe Theatre! Brand new. Just opened. Through, strictly speaking, it's not a globe, it's a tetradecagon. Fourteen sides. Containing the man himself."  
"Whoa, you don't mean that Shakespeare in there?", Jack grinned.  
"Oh, yes. Miss Jones, will you accompany me to the theatre?", the Doctor asked Martha, offering his elbow.  
She grinned and took it. "Mister Smith, I will."  
Jack rolled his eyes and took Martha's other elbow. "If you don't mind, I'll come along too. When you get home, you can tell everyone you've seen Shakespeare.", he waggled his eyebrows at Martha.  
"Then I could get sectioned!", she laughed.

* * *

After the Doctor had been disappointed by meeting his idol, and a woman had drowned from witchcraft, they were led to an old room in the back of the theatre. It was dark and dingy, and Martha held up the candle and wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"It's not exactly five star, is it?"  
"I've seen worse.", commented Jack. "Have I told you about the Sprixian jail he got Rose and I into when he was back in his ninth body?"  
She ignored him and kept complaing. "I haven't even got a toothbrush."  
The Doctor sighed and located a toothbrush. Pulling it out, he realised that it was one of Rose's favourite flavours. "Contains Venusian spearmint.", he handed it to her.  
"So, who's going where? I mean, there's only one bed."  
"Uh-", the Doctor scratched the back of him neck. "I don't really sleep."  
"Right.", she shuffled her feet awkwardly.  
"Oh, Blimey. Just take the bed, Martha", Jack rolled his eyes, "I don't sleep much either. Not since, well-"

There was a moment of awkward silence as she climbed on the bed and Jack situated himself in a chair while the Doctor started pacing.

"So, magic and stuff. That's a surprise", Jack thought out loud.  
"It's all a little bit Harry Potter.", Martha's nose crinkled.  
"Wait till you read book seven. I cried.", the Doctor commented while Jack raised an eyebrow at him.  
"But is it real, though? I mean, witches, black magic and all that, it's real?"  
"Course it isn't!"  
"Well, how am I supposed to know?"  
"Looks like witchcraft, but it isn't. Can't be. There's such a thing as psychic energy, but a human couldn't channel it like that."  
"Well, if they had a generator the size of Taunton, but think we'd have spotted it", Jack added as the Doctor continued his rant.  
"No, there's something I'm missing. Something really close, staring me right in the face and I can't see it. Rose would know.", he said sadly. "Right now, she'd say exactly the right thing. Still, can't be helped." The Doctor shook his head. "You're a novice, never mind. I'll take you back home tomorrow.", he told Martha.

She was about to reply with a sarcastic comment, but a scream interrupted her.

* * *

"All Hallows Street, but which house?", the Doctor wondered sometime later.  
"The thing is, the world didn't end in 1599. Trust me, I lived through it.", Jack said.  
"Oh, how to explain the mechanics of the infinite temporal flux? I know. Back to the Future. It's like Back to the Future."  
"The film?", Martha asked.  
"No, the novelisation.", he snapped back. "Yes, the film. Marty McFly goes back and changes history."  
"And he starts fading away. Oh, no. Am I going to fade?"  
"You, Jack, and the entire future of the human race. It ends right now in 1599 if we don't stop it. But which house?" A door along the dimly lit street slowly opened. "Ah. Make that witch house." They started off towards the house and were greeted by Lilith as they made it up to the second floor. "I take it we're expected."  
"Oh, I think Death has been waiting for you a very long time.", she cackled.  
"Right then", Martha stepped in. "It's my turn. I know how to do this. I name thee Carrionite!" She pointed a finger at the brown-haired woman who simply smiled. "What did I do wrong? Was it the finger?"  
"The power of a name works only once. Observe. I gaze upon this bag of bones and now I name thee Martha Jones."

Martha's eyes rolled to the back of her head and she fell back where Jack caught her.

"What have you done?", the Doctor asked.  
"Only sleeping, alas.", the woman said almost sadly, staring at the dark girl. "It's curious. The name has less impact. She's somehow out of her time. As for you, Sir Doctor. Fascinating. There is no name. Why would a man hide his title in such despair?" Then Lilith smiled. "Oh, but look. There's still one word with the power that aches."  
The Doctor shook his head. "The naming won't work on me."  
"But your heart grows cold.", she said, walking up to him. "The north wind blows and carries down the distant Rose."

The Doctor felt a chilling breeze pass through the house as Time itself twisted. He could feel a pinch in it, but then suddenly, it went away and everything went back to normal. Lilith stepped back in shock.

"Oh, big mistake.", he walked about the Lilith and got right in her face. "Because that name keeps me fighting. The Carrionites vanished. Where did you go?"  
"The Eternals found the right word to banish us into deep darkness."  
"The Eternals?", Jack asked.  
"Three daughters and a son. Have you not heard the tale of the Bad Wolf, Boe?"  
The Doctor bristled at the familiar name that really should not be following him any more. "How did you escape?"  
"New words. New and glittering, from a mind like no other."  
"Shakespeare."  
"His son perished. The grief of a genius, a grief without measure. Madness enough to allow us entrance."  
"How many of you?"  
"Just three, but the play tonight shall restore the rest. Then the human race will be purged as pestilence, and from this world we will lead the universe back into the old ways of blood and magic."  
"You've got to get past me first.", he smirked.  
"Oh, that should be a pleasure, considering my enemy has such a handsome shape.", Lilith titled her head and stepped closer to him.  
"Now, that's one form of magic that's definitely not going to work on me."  
"Oh, we'll see about that.", she reached forward and pulled on his hair, collecting a few strands as the Doctor jumped back.  
"Give it back!", the Doctor tried to grab his hair from her, but she flew out the window. "Well, that's just cheating."  
"Behold, Doctor. Men to Carrionites are nothing but puppets.", she smirked as she wrapped his hair around a wooden doll.  
"Now, you might call that magic. I'd call that a DNA replication module."  
"What use is your science now?", Lilith said sweetly as she stabbed the doll and the Doctor fell to the floor, screaming.  
Jack ran over to him after lying Martha on floor. "Doc, what's the matter? What do I do?"  
"I've only got one heart working. How do you people cope?", he held his chest, "I've got to get the other one started. Hit me!" The Doctor moved his arm out of the way. "Hit me on the chest! Dah! Other side.", He commanded as Jack did what he said, "Now, on the back. Left a bit. Ta', lovely. There we go." The Doctor straightened up with a grin. "Well, what are we standing around for? Come one! Wake up Martha and let's get to the globe."

* * *

Rose leaned against the concrete wall, dressed in all black. It had been two years since John had gone missing without a trance, excluding the note he had left. At first, she had kept a level head about it, realising that he probably just needed to pop over to another planet and back to keep his case of wanderlust in check. A month later, Rose had the equivalent of a mental breakdown worrying about him. Now she was accepting the fact that he was gone, or had gotten the time wrong. He would back, and it wasn't like she was going to die waiting for him.

Right now, the Sycorax in front of her was something to worry about. They were ruthless, just like in the other universe. Rose and her team (now consisting of Gwen, Rhys, and Jack's children, considering that her friends were too old for field work) were trying to talk and comprise with them, but they were having none of it.

Suddenly, a bright golden light filled her head and it burned. Collapsing to the floor, she could feel the pull of something dark. It was wrong, so wrong, Rose laid on the floor, gasping for breath, not realising that she had started to turn gold. The Sycorax saw and backed up. Rose pushed with all her might against the darkness, and suddenly it quit and everything went black.

So much for that idea, Rose thought.

* * *

As Queen Elizabeth stepped in with her pikemen, the Doctor, Jack, and Martha looked up with gaping faces.

"Queen Elizabeth the First!", the Doctor exclaimed with a grin, being the first to regain his composure.  
"Doctor?", the Queen asked sharply.  
"What?", the Doctor had no idea how she knew him. Timey wimey, he thought to himself.

"My sworn enemy."  
"What?", he nearly screeched.  
"Off with his head!"  
"What?"  
"Never mind what, just run!", Martha grabbed his hand and started out.  
"See you, Will, and thanks.", Jack said as he followed his other two companions.  
"Stop that pernicious Doctor, and find his wife, that stubborn vassal!"  
"_What?_", the Doctor stopped and Jack continued to drag him on as Shakespeare laughed.  
"What have you done to upset her?", Martha huffed as they got to the TARDIS and the Doctor pulled out a key.  
"How should I know? Haven't even met her yet. That's time travel for you. Still, can't wait to find out. That's something to look forward to.", he finished as they scrambled in and Jack slammed the door shut. A thud hit the door immediately and Jack laughed nervously.  
"I'm glad we didn't get hit by that. Javelins hurt."  
The Doctor grimaced as he made his way to the console. "Just one trip. That's what I said. One trip in the TARDIS, and then home.", he said as Martha's face fell. "Although I suppose we could stretch the definition. Take one trip into past, one trip into future. How do you fancy that?"  
"No complaints from me."  
"Jack?"  
"I'm game."  
"How about a different planet?"  
"Can we go to yours?", Martha asked, grinning, and the Doctor suddenly look interested in the TARDIS screen.  
"Nah, there's plenty of other places."  
"Come on, though. I mean, planet of the Time Lords. That's got to be worth a look. What's it like?"  
Jack tried to warn Martha inconspicuously by shaking his head at her, but she didn't notice.  
"It's beautiful, yeah."  
"Is it like, you know, outer space cities, all spires and stuff?"  
"I suppose it is.", he fiddled with a lever and Jack realised she wasn't going to stop.  
"Great big temples and cathedrals?"  
"Yeah."  
"Lots of planets in the sky?"  
"The sky's burnt orange, with the Citadel enclosed in a mighty glass dome, shining under the twin suns. Beyond that, the mountains go on forever. Slopes of deep red grass, capped with snow.", the Doctor said out loud, and Jack was shocked because he had never heard him speak so freely about it before.  
"Can we go there?"  
"Where's the fun for me? I don't want to go home.", the Doctor tried to say with a grin, but instead stabbed his hearts. (It hurt more than when Lilith had stabbed him.) "Instead, this is much better. Year five billion and fifty-three, planet New Earth.", he did a dance around a console meant for six Time Lords. "Second hope of mankind. Fifty thousand light years from your old world, and we're slap bang in the middle of New New York. Although, technically it's the fifteenth New York from the original, so it's New New New New New New New New New New New New New New York. One of the most dazzling cities ever built."

* * *

Rose woke up in the Torchwood medic lab on the crisp, white bed. She groaned and lifted an arm to cover her eyes, blocking out the bright white light.

"What happened?", she asked in a raspy voice that sent an almost fifty-five year old Gwen jumping from her chair.  
"Blimey, Rose. You had us all scared to death. How are you feeling?"  
"Fine except my head hurts.", she shrugged, "But it hurts all the time. Nothing new. What happened?"  
Gwen grimaced. "You fell while working with the Sycorax.", then she chuckled, "Scared them off, I think. You had a fever when Sandy and Jack Junior rushed you here. Stabilised after a while though. Owen's having me look after you until he get's back from lunch."  
"How long have I been out?"  
"A couple of days."  
Rose raised her eyebrows. "Wow. Sorry about scaring you guys.", she grinned. "Do you have any tea?"  
Gwen smiled and shook her head. "I'll get someone to send some up.", she headed over the phone. "Your mum was up here earlier, but she had to go back home. She was feeling really tired."  
"Oh, no.", Rose groaned, "I probably gave her a heart attack."  
"Not quite, but close enough, love."  
"Is she still doing okay?"

Rose was wondering because her almost eighty-year-old mother had developed leukaemia. It was in remission, but she still worried crazily about Jackie.

"She's all right, Rose.", Gwen laid a comforting hand on her shoulder and gave her a small smile.

* * *

**A/N:** I really shouldn't apologize for my work. xD Poor Jackie. *sigh* I have to kill her off somehow, so she must go fighting. Sadly, she'll never see her granddaughter. Whoops, did I just say that out loud? *cough* Ahem. Anyways.


	32. Chapter 32: Climatic Return

**A/N**: FINALLY. A longer chapter. I'm really sorry they've been so short lately. I'm trying not to make this mundane and boring, but I'm not paid to write all day, so... *shrugs* BUT finals are today and tomorrow which means- Yes, you guessed it! QUICKER UPDATES. :D

Yes, I gave Jackie cancer. Yes, I am cruel and heartless. Yes, I plan to kill off more characters. (Quite often, mind you. I'm an angst writer. Fluff isn't my forte; I have to work on it. But this isn't a fluffy fic, so suck it up. xD)

Now about Jackie's granddaughter Ahem. *cough* Please keep Jenny in mind, not that it means anything really, because this is my universe. Literally, _anything_ can happen. So with that, your chapter. *fanfare*

* * *

On their trip to the future, Martha had gotten stuck in the slums of the city while the Doctor and Jack worked to save her. The Doctor could feel a stretch in time, but ignored as he was trying to help Martha. Now, everything was fixed and they finally had meet Boe once again.

"What's that?", Martha asked more quietly as she came up to the giant face, the Doctor, Novice Hame, and Jack, who seemed to be staying off to the side.

Jack could feel it. He was the Face of Boe.

"It's not a _that_, it's the Face of Boe. It's all right. Come and say hello.", the Doctor motioned for Martha to come closer, "And this is Hame. She's a cat." Martha looked wary of the novice and the giant, octopus, uh, thing "Don't worry. He's the one that saved you, not me."  
"My lord gave his life to save the city, and now he's dying.", Hame said sadly, stroking Boe's face.  
"No, don't say that. Not old Boe. Plenty of life left.", the Doctor swallowed his sadness with a put on smile.

Maybe the Doctor knew it was him, too, Jack thought.

"It's good to breathe the air once more."

"Who is he?", Martha asked quietly and the Doctor shook his head.  
"I don't even know. Legend says the Face of Boe has lived for billions of years. Isn't that right? And you're not about to give up now."

So maybe he didn't, Jack decided.

"Everything has its time. You know that, old friend, better than most."  
"The legend says more.", Hame spoke.  
"Don't", the Doctor shook his head, "There's no need for that."  
"It says that the Face of Boe will speak his final secret to a traveller."  
"Yeah, but not yet. Who needs secrets, eh?"

Jack noticed a golden movement out of the corner of his eye and looked over into the shadows. His jaw dropped.

It was Rose Tyler.

He rose from his slouched position against the wall and opened his mouth to say something, but Rose put a finger to her lips to silence him. Jack furrowed his brow in response and then there was a voice in his head.

"_I'm sorry, Jack. It's not the right timeline."_

"_Rose?",_Jack asked, thankful for the 51st century human's slightly telepathic abilities, "_Do you know it's me?" _He figured that it was the only non-timeline threatening question he could ask.  
"_Yes_", she sounded sad, "_I'm so sorry, Jack, for what I did to you."_

"_It's okay. I'm dealing with it. Just think of all the time the Doctor gets to spend with me."  
_She laughed in his mind and then her voice was sober_. "But later, what are you going to think of me?"  
_Silence. _"Can you change it?_

Another pause. "_No."  
_

Jack sighed audibly and the Doctor looked up at him, giving a scowl. He went to open his mouth, but Rose's voice interrupted him.  
_"Jack, don't. If he knows I'm here, but it's not the right timeline- I don't know what he'll do. Trust me on this though, I'm with you guys. I only popped over to be with you when you died."_Jack nodded and was sent another weird look. This time from Novice Hame.

"_Thank you."_

"I must, but know this, Time Lord. You are not alone, nor ever will be.", the Face of Boe said his last words and breathed out for one last time. Novice Hame cried softly, and Martha rubbed her shoulder. The Doctor was crunched down, staring at the old face with tears in his eyes. Jack didn't know what to think. He had just seen himself die. He looked back up at the shadow and saw Rose wave to him. Jack raised a hand back. The Doctor saw him out of the corner of his eye and looked over to see what he was waving at. All that he saw was gold dissipating into nothing.

* * *

"But what did he mean, the Face of Boe? You're not alone.", Martha asked as the three walked back to the TARDIS.  
"I don't know.", the Doctor sighed truthfully.  
"You've got me and Jack. Is that what he meant?"  
"I don't think so, sorry."  
"Then what?"  
"Doesn't matter", the Doctor shook his head, "Back to the TARDIS, off we go."  
Jack would've laughed at Martha's childishness of plopping in a chair, crossing her arms and legs, if she hadn't been serious.

"So are you staying?"  
"'Til you talk to me properly, yes. He said last of your kind. What does that mean?"

Jack shifted on his feet awkwardly, mentally commending Martha on her stubbornness. Even Rose hadn't dared to do that. Or maybe she did. He wouldn't know.

"It really doesn't matter."  
"You don't talk. You never say.", she said exasperatedly, "Why not?" Echoes of a choir drifted to their ears. It was the people of the city, singing a hymn. "It's the city. They're singing.", Martha whispered.

The Doctor sighed and took a chair, as did Jack. The Doctor didn't want to talk about it, not yet, not ever. But he couldn't keep hiding from her questions forever. He was reminded of a conservation he had with Rose in his ninth regeneration.

"_So what do Time Lords do, exactly?", her young voice carried to under the console, where he was working. It was past her bedtime, he thought about saying. That wouldn't go over well though.  
"Nothing too interesting.", he responded gruffly, putting the sonic screwdriver back in his mouth.  
"You know you're textbook enigmatic, right?"  
"Been told that a few times."  
"You never talk", she sighed._

"_If you want to talk, call up Shireen or another one of the those estate friends of yours."  
Rose's face scrunched up. He couldn't see it, but he knew it did. "You know what I mean, Doctor."_

_He sighed. "Some things you just don't want to talk about, Rose. You wouldn't know. You're not old enough."  
"I do know what you mean. Just because I'm young doesn't mean I don't have skeletons in the closet." _

"_What would the great Rose Tyler not want to talk about, hm?"  
She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, smoothing out her pajamas. "Nothing that you'd be interested in." Rose sighed before continuing. "You don't have to lie to me, Doctor, and act like everything's okay. 'Cos I know it's not. I just want to help you." _

It was then that he had sent her to bed after thanking her for her thoughtfulness.

"I lied to you, because I liked it, liked that I could pretend. Just for a little bit, I could imagine they were still alive, underneath a burnt orange sky.", the Doctor sighed, "I'm not just a Time Lord. I'm the last of the Time Lords. The Face of Boe was wrong. There's no one else."

_But there will be_, Jack wanted to say so desperately before he heard Martha's question that tip-toed across thin ice.

"What happened?"  
"There was a war, a Time War. The last Great Time War. My people fought a race called the Daleks, for the sake of all creation.", the Doctor looked into the distance, "And they lost. Everyone lost. They're all gone now. My family, my friends, even that sky.", he swallowed and caught her eyes with a smile, "You should have seen it, that old planet. The second sun would rise in the south, and the mountains would shine. The leaves on the trees were silver, and when they caught the light every morning, it looked like a forest on fire. When the autumn came, the breeze would blow through the branches like a song."

The Doctor went on to explain Gallifrey's waterfalls and streams, green grass that would grow in the spring and turn orange in the fall. The picnics and festivals they used to have as children, playing in the meadows. The colourful markets carrying robes and native foods. The fireworks that celebrated the new year.

Calthas, or golden roses, that were Gallifrey's planetary flowers, growing everywhere and symbolising timeless love. They had eventually gone extinct by the time he was born, because love no longer existed on Gallifrey.

"_The darkness deepens. Lord, with me abide."_

* * *

_2047 in Pete's World..._

Four years, Rose thinks. Fours since John disappeared. Pete had finally made her clean out his office after two months and three years later she accepted the fact that maybe he wasn't coming back. She really shouldn't be surprised. The Doctor had said that he didn't do domestic, and she should have naturally accepted that John didn't either. (A warning would have been nice before leaving though.) Rose had turned somewhat sarcastic and cynical in his prolonged absence,

She looks around at her white office that is lined with old college books that she doesn't really look in too much any more. A picture of her and Theta at their wedding hangs on the wall. Her oak desk is soild and holds several piles of paperwork, including some from John's office that have formulas and notes scribbled on them. Rose is sure they mean something, but isn't sure what.

Her state-of-the-art cellphone rings, breaking her out of her reverie. It's Jack, who is now in his sixties and only works an office job. Donna died several years ago from a car crash and so he now lived with his children, Jack Jr. and Emily who have just gotten married. Their dad is at Torchwood most of the time, so he doesn't bother them much.

"Rose?"  
"Yep, Jack?", she sets down a paper with John's handwriting.

"We have a code red one-oh-two, north of London."  
Rose stilled her actions. Red means very hostile and 102 means they're internet on invading. Not good. "Are you _sure_?"

"Do I kid about this kind of stuff?"

"Your right, sorry.", she moved a hand through hair light brown bob. "I'll call my team together. Can you get to units twenty and fourteen, too? They're used to working with hostiles."

"Will do, Commander."  
"Thanks, Jack."

Rose pressed on her phone and then picked up the landline, pressing the intercom button, calling her team -Jack Jr, Olivia (Gwen and Rhys daughter), and Sandy (not related to anyone in Torchwood, but still a great asset to her team)- to action.

* * *

Upon reaching Whitewebbs Wood north of Enfield, Rose saw that it was a Sycorax ship that had landed. There were already a few Sycorax outside discussing something. She heard more jeeps approaching and turned to see Mickey's team get out. Even after all she'd been through, Mickey was still one of her best friends, an anchor in time of need. She never really did deserve him. He was going on sixty-two this year and his wife, this world's parallel of Martha Jones, was begging him to retire, and he really was thinking about it.

"What does it look like, Rose?", he asked professionally looking over the ship and scanning it with a handheld device.

"Sycorax, but they're not kidding around this time. We've been hacking into their comm devices and it seems they have an insider, but they haven't given a name yet. They seem to be dead bent on invanding."  
"A nice thought."

Rose sighed and shook her head. "They're more hostile than you think, Micks. I've been reading up on their torture techniques. It seems the Doctor didn't tell us _everything_ about them."  
"That was a long time ago, Rose. Besides, Lord of Time or no, he couldn't have known everything."

"You're right. We need to head into their ship and see who they're getting information from. How many people have you got with you?"  
"Eight. My usual and Markson, O' Connor, Bergon, and that new guy, Kels."  
"Right. Okay. I've got my usual three, but they're specialists in these kind of situations. That makes thirteen in all. Have you got one to spare that we can set up in a Jeep to keep contact with home base?"  
"Yeah, maybe I'll set Markson out. His ankle is still bothering him."  
""Kay", she took a deep breath.

* * *

Rose had expected getting caught by the guards out front. Of course, she was the bait in these kind of situations, even for almost six metered, red robe wearing aliens with their faces melted to gold masks. Being commander and all, she took it upon herself to be the hero. (Another stupid trait from the Doctor.) Besides, they always took you straight to the top guys when you asked. There was no need to sneak around the ship. It saved time, really.  
The only problem was that the Sycoraxes _really_ had a grip, and their constant dragging her quicker than she could keep out wasn't helping anything, Eventually, they made it the control room, where their leader was. She recognized the control room from that day so long ago when she first came in contact with the Sycorax in her universe.

"Bring the human girl here.", the one near surveillance screen commanded in a low tone. Learning their language was definitely coming in handy, she thought.  
"Oi, I'm sixty-one, thank you very much. I think I'm past being called a girl", she mumbled in their language to herself as they dragged her over.  
"Quiet.", a guard commanded her as it tore away her gun that was half the size her was.  
Rose rolled her eyes at him as the assumed leader came forward.

"What is it that you are here for, human?"  
"First off, I'm not human, but you didn't hear that from me. Trust me, sometimes I wish I was. Second, I'm here to kick butt and get you off earth. You don't belong here and you're not invading it and setting up a kingdom or whatever you blokes decide you want to do."

In an afterthought, Rose mulled over the fact that maybe sarcasm wasn't the way to go. She was the commander of unit thirty-four of Torchwood and supposed diplomat. Well, at least with the willing species. She was really annoyed with the Sycorax. It wasn't the first time they had come here for invasion and she was sure it wasn't going to be the last.

Obviously this afterthought was jump started by one of the guards backhanding her face.

"You will not speak to Exmerillain the Third in such a insolent manner."  
"Right.", she agreed, rubbing her face. "What is it exactly is it that you want, _sir?_ Maybe we can make negotiations." The leaders gaze started to unnerve her.

"You were here the last time we came to Sol 3.", he stated.  
"Uh, yes. Don't think I remember you though, on account of my passing out."  
"You become gold, my soldiers said."  
"Gold? Well, it's sort of, well, you see-", Rose scratched the back of her neck.  
"What is this power?"  
"Wait-", she paused, "-what do you mean power?"

"We know you have power. You were first to get caught of your people. Our aide says you would be the first to come."  
"Your aid, as in the person who's been giving you secrets to earth?"  
"Not just Sol 3, but your organization, this Torchwood, that handles diplomatic relations with other species."  
"So they know Torchwood?", Rose asked cautiously.

He ignored her question as another guard walked in.  
"Your highness, we've gotten hold of the dark one who we think is a commander. He demands to know where Rose Smith is."  
"Kill him.", the leader said simply, "We have no need of him."  
"NO!", Rose shouted in fear and lounged toward the retreating guard, but was held back by the two next to her. "You can't kill him! You don't understand, he's-"  
"We have no need of any human except our aide who is only useful for information. And we believe you hold the power of a legend called Bad Wolf. We will use it to take over Sol 3 and then use this planet as a base."  
"What? You must be insane! There's no way your getting me to help you, even if I did have the power."  
"We have no need of your consent."  
"You can't make me.", her face filled with determined tears at hearing a scream echoing down the hallway.  
"We have various methods of torture that work on your species. I will not be reluctant to use them."

Rose was scared now, and that was saying something after seeing the things she had seen. They thought the Bad Wolf was in her still. True, she couldn't age and she had done something when the Doctor was in that pit, but she hadn't done anything since. Why would they think she had some great power and what exactly was this legend?

"No, you promised you wouldn't hurt her!", a male voice rang out and Rose froze. She knew that voice all too well. Slowly, she turn around and her jaw dropped when she saw who had spoken.

It was John.

Her chin trembled when she realised what was happening. John was their "aide". He had given them information for Torchwood and the earth. He had betrayed them, and had left her behind voluntarily. Instead of yelling at him like she thought she would, Rose simply stood there and let the tears fall down her face, not bothering to wipe them away.

"John?"

Her voice sounded so broken. She probably thought that he had betrayed them. In a way, he had, but she wouldn't understand _why_. He needed to get off this planet, to leave and go somewhere. John had only meant to take a quick jump in the young TARDIS and come back to get her, but it had elevated into more. For instance, there was a gap in his memories (and all he could get a grasp on when trying to locate something is a kiss that Rose had given him. The only problem is that she was so much different and crying. It was weird and he had finally come to the conclusion that is was just a dream.) The last of his clear memories after that was him waking up to find that his TARDIS had crashed. John needed to get back to earth to find Rose. He had happened to come across the Sycorax while looking for a way back. They had agreed that they would take him there if he gave them information, which he gave of course. It's not like he _needed_ earth (or Torchwood for that matter). It was simply another planet along with the hundreds, maybe thousands, that were already in this universe. If they wanted it for a base, then there really wasn't a way to stop them. Besides, all he needed to do is fix the TARDIS and then he and Rose could be off exploring the universe like old times.  
But of course, it wouldn't be like old times. Rose thought that he had betrayed them. He could see that look on her face. It was one of disappointment. (It was much like the one she had when Owen had said that John was completely human and she wasn't, and that they would never have biological children.) She probably thought he was crazy, which would be the right assumption. John had done something that messed up his mental soundness, not that it mattered because he was already mentally unstable when he left. He know he was, he just didn't think he needed help. A Time Lord turned human had a right to be messed up anyway, right? It had never been done before, after all. You can't expect everything to turn out perfectly. It is what it is and all that rubbish, he thought.

"Rose, listen to me for a minute. I know you-"  
"No, Theta, you listen to me! Why were you gone so long, and why on earth are you helping them? Do you have any idea what you're doing?", she cried.

"You don't understand. The TARDIS crashed and I need a way to get back."

Rose took a deep breath in, trying to calm herself down. "So you decided to sell us out?"

"It's not like we need to stay here, Rose. Once we get the TARDIS fixed, we can leave.", John spoke firmly.  
She simply stared him. "John, our family, friends- Our home! How can you do this?"  
"It's your family. I didn't marry your mother, and you know as well as I do that this isn't, and can't be, our home."

"But why-", Rose shook her head in disbelief, "John, what's happened to you?"

"You wouldn't understand. I have to leave here, Rose. It's just like a, a pull or something. I have to keep moving."

"Why didn't you take me? I could've stopped this."

"You mean you could've stoppe me. I didn't mean to leave you behind. Like I said, the TARDIS crashed. I'm sorry, Rose, I really am."  
Rose cried more, pulling against her captors grip on her arms, and started to say something back, but was stopped.

"Enough.", the Sycorax leader's voice commanded. "Take her to the brig. We will deal with her later. I have some things to discuss with our aide."  
John stomped over to Exmerillain before he could turn around. "NO. You promised you wouldn't touch her."

"You should know that Sycorax don't keep agreements with lesser species. Have _you_ not betrayed your own people? Why should I not betray you?"  
John shot daggers from his eyes and stood his ground. "Then I'm not helping you. Let Rose and I go. _Now_."

Exmerillain looked at him in silence for a few moments before looking at Rose and then back.

"Kill him."

* * *

**A/N:** Ooh, was that a cliffhanger? Well, I'll be off then. *jetpacks away since _somebody_ won't give me TARDIS*


	33. Chapter 33: We Are Fragile

**A/N: **So I'm killing people left and right here. Heh heh. Don't listen to dark soundtracks if you don't want a dark story.

* * *

_Dear Whats-the-point, my story is not simply an episode guide. If you actually read it, you will understand that I have put in in-between adventures, original adventures and characters, and stories of the other universe. The story is also very timey-wimey. I am building my story like a child would paly with Legos. The pieces are the same, but I build it how I like it. Sincerely, Evy._

* * *

_We are fragile needing much  
__We are delicate to the touch  
__We are temporary at best  
__Unaware of what's next_

_Leave what you once knew behind  
Take what is left, see what you'll find_

* * *

Rose screamed as Exmerillain's guard thrust his spear into her husband's back. John turned ashen at feeling the sharp pain, fell to his knees and finally the ground. Rose screamed for her release as the image of John's pained face was engraved in her mind. Underneath the sound she was making, she heard the pince commanding the two guards on her left and right to let he go. Rose scrambled to John's side. Not caring about the deep scratches the Sycorax had made on he upper arms, she pulled off her leather jacket to stop his bleeding, to which he protested with a groan.

"This isn't how I thought it was end with us", John grunted.

Rose shook her head, tears falling down her cheeks, as she kept trying to stop his back from bleeding. "Don't say that."

"You can't save everyone, Rose, no matter how you try. Isn't that what you told me once?"

In a sign of defeat, she moved him so that his had lay in her lap. "But it's not the same", she choked, "I _love _you. I can't lose you, not yet."

John let out a pained chuckle. "I don't deserve you, Rose. How could you love me, I wonder."

"After all this time, you still question it?", she cried, "I've tried so hard to let you know."

"I know", he took her hand in his, "I know. But I'm just a copy of the man you loved. You can go find him now."

More tears fell. "No, Theta, he's the one who was the one who broke his promise; you're the one who stayed with me. You're the man I love. I couldn't see him again anyway, even if I wanted to."

John cried now. "But I haven't kept my promises either, haven't I?" Rose was silent as he coughed up blood and some from his back pooled around her knees. "I'm sorry, Rose, so sorry. I never wanted you to go through this. This is exactly why he didn't stay."

"I'm the braver one then, I suppose?", she failingly joked.

"Very impressive", John tried grinning as Rose moved a wet hand through his hair. "And I love it. I love _you._"

Rose nodded and bent her head to kiss him. "I love you, too."

When she pulled back, his breath hitched and his face contorted in pain. John started coughing up blood again and she rubbed his back until he finally stopped. With a shudder, she swallowed and looked up at the silent guards.

"Satisfied?", she asked in a quivering voice.

"Now that you've said goodbye to your betraying lover, we will use you for our purpose", Exmerillain said.

"No.", Rose picked up her husband's corpse under his shoulders and knees, wondering where her strength was coming from. Her eyes were gold as she looked back at the Sycoraxian prince and he took a step back. "You will not. You have already killed two of my best friends today", her voice sounded ethereal as she stood, "not to mention others that work for the cause of peace. The only death that will be left today is your kind."

As she spoke, the two guards and others in the back of the room turned to gold dust, screaming. "I will leave only you and a crew to get you back to your home planet", Rose exclaimed as she walked toward Exmerillain. "You will go home and tell the others of you race that no person or creature angers the Bad Wolf and gets away with it." She turned and started to walk out of the room and out of the ship whilst holding the dead body of John.

"I will return!", the prince commanded in a shaky voice, "I will have this planet, and I will have you. You can not stop me."

Rose, as the Bad Wolf, turned back briefly to look at him. "Watch me." She walked out of the ship towards the Torchwood group. Some of the agents and soldiers came running to her.

"We haven't been able to reach Commander Michael Smith. Do you know of his whera- Rose?", Jack Jr. stopped talking and walking as her saw her golden eyes and her hair swirl around her.

Golden tears fell down her cheeks. For this blessed moment in time, she could feel the turn of the earth, although it was the wrong one. She could feel the lifelessness of the body in front of her. She saw the timelines as they twirled and tumbled in her mind. It was so exhausting in this little body. For one moment in time, she saw exactly how powerful she was, but not _who _she was. Rose said nothing as she turned back to face the ship. Simply, she moved it from the earth back to their home planet. It vanished, leaving a trace of gold dust in it's wake. Only then did Rose collapse to the ground and fall unconscious over her beloved Theta.

* * *

"_Hello. Surprise. Boo. Et cetera.", the Doctor said as he walked up to Dalek Sec.  
"Doctor.", Sec responded as other Daleks chimed in.  
"The enemy of the Daleks, along with the abomination."  
"Exterminate."  
"Wait!", Sec stopped them.  
The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "Well, then. A new form of Dalek, fascinating and very clever."  
"The Cult of Skaro escaped your and the Wolf's slaughter."  
"How did you end up in 1930?", the Doctor demanded in a tight voice.  
"Emergency temporal shift.", he almost sound pleased.  
"That must have roasted up your power cells, huh? Four Daleks could have conquered the world, but instead you're skulking away, hidden in the dark, experimenting. All of which results in you."  
"I am Dalek in human form."  
"What does it feel like? You can talk to me, Dalek Sec. It is Dalek Sec, isn't it? That's your name? You've got a name and a mind of your own. Tell me what you're thinking right now."  
"I feel humanity.", Sec turned from him. "I feel everything we wanted from mankind, which is ambition, hatred, aggression and war. Such a genius for war."  
The Doctor shook his head. "No, that's not what humanity means."  
"I think it does. At heart, this species is so very Dalek."_

"We are though, aren't we?", Martha asked the Doctor as he, Jack, and her sat on a couch in the TARDIS, watching a movie no one was watching. "Look at us. We fight wars over stupid things, we're stuck up about other people when they're different from us, sometimes we only love people when it benefits us. We are like them in a way."

The Doctor shook his head. "Maybe sometimes. But that right there proves that you're not like them. That's why I bring people along with me. Once you see how vast the universe is, and how little we've got, you'll see everything in a different light."

"Has it changed you then?", Jack asked, meaning to be joking, "You're always running."

"There's always more to see. Besides, I never was one to stay in one place long."

"See what what I mean? Always running. Think you'll ever stop?"

The Doctor looked down to swish the tea around in his chipped, dark blue mug. "Nah."

* * *

The next few years of her life would not be easy on Rose.

Time seemed to cease as she woke up in the hospital. Her mother was there, nearly drowning in tears. She was told about an attack on the Tyler mansion that resulted in Pete's death. Once again, Rose had to deal with the death of her father, only this time along with her husbands death. She laid back in the bed, crying, as her mother slept uncomfortably in a chair next to her. Owen was running what seemed like millions of tests on her. Most of those who had seen the Bad Wolf side of Rose and didn't know of her "condition" were scared and demanded answers. Rumours worked their way into the med-lab a few days after the tragic deaths of Pete, John, and Mickey. A few days later there was to be funerals.

As Rose Marion Tyler-Smith stood in black watching her husband, second father, and one of her best friends being buried, she wondered if her life could be any more complicated. Probably not, she decided. What would she do now? She had a mother sick with cancer and an alien organization to run, not to mention countless members of Mickey's family to emotionally support, including his wife, Martha. Rose also had her own grief to deal with. She wasn't looking forward to returning the empty flat, but she knew that life must go on. _As_ he _always said_, she thought reluctantly, _onwards and upwards._

* * *

It was a mere four years later that Rose sat at the death bed of mother. Rose had somehow expected that her mother would always be there. It never occurred to her that she might actually be left alone for good. Tears fell done her face as she held the left hand of eighty-five-year-old Jackie and her brother, Tony Peter, held the other. His wife stood next to him. Her mother was crying too, and it seemed odd. Jackie Tyler had always said she'd be ready to go when her time came.

"I love you all", she choked and smiled at Tony, and his wife, Susan, and at their branch of the family. Then she turned to Rose. "I'm so proud of you, dear.", she tried to squeeze Rose's hand. "And I'm so sorry for everything you've had to go through."

"Mum", Rose tried to reassure her, "you don't have to be sorry. You know I wouldn't have missed it for the world."

"But I never told you.", Jackie gasped.

"Told me what?", Rose cried as she kissed her mother's fist and placed her cheek on it.

"You're not mine, oh, Rose, but I pretended like you were. It should have all made sense the moment that he came by.

Rose choked up. "Mum, you're not making sense."

"Your dad, from the other universe, and I, we couldn't have children. They didn't", Jackie took in another sharp breath, "They didn't know who you're parents were. I should have told you. Even when were younger, you were so different. I should've known. I should've told you."

"Mum, I-", Rose cried, "it doesn't matter to me. I'll always think of you as my mum."

"There's a note I wrote. Pete hid it in Torchwood. He said the Doctor can find it."

"You know that I'll never see him again. It's impossible."

Jackie shook her head. "I've seen you do some impossible things, Rose Marion. Don't you forget that." Rose nodded. "I love you.", she whispered.

"I love you, too, mum."

"Find him, Rose, find him."

"Mum, I-"

"Please." Rose nodded as her mother took her last breath. "Thank him for me, will ya'?"

* * *

A few weeks later, Rose was found in her flat unconscious and with a major fever by Olivia, Gwen's daughter. She had already kicked out of Torchwood because people were suspicious of _what_ she exactly was. Olivia dragged Rose back to her house and called Owen. She floated in and out of consciousness for several days as the doctor tested her for anything and everything. What he found was shocking.

Rose Tyler-Smith was no longer human.

Not a bit. Everything about her DNA, if it was even called that any more, was more complex than human. She had a different number chromosomes. Owen Harper had even managed to get her into a private CAT scan and found out her brain was way more active than a humans should be.

When she woke up, Rose could feel it too. Her mind seemed bigger, expanded. The headaches she had previously had were gone, and it felt weird since she had them for the best couple of decades. Her body felt different too. She felt stronger, breathing seemed easier. It had taken a while to convince Owen that she was okay. He still insisted that she kept it easy until he found some sort of closure of what had happened. Owen didn't find anything he could quite comprehend in this now-complex body of hers. Except he was sure of one thing, one completely impossible thing.

Rose Smith was pregnant.

* * *

**A/N: **Haha. I wish I could see ya'll's faces. *smirk*


	34. Chapter 34: The Oncoming Wolf

_**A/N:** _So after killing so many people, I decide to give life. And a timey-wimey twist.

NEVER WATCH "THEY'RE TAKING THE HOBBITS TO ISENGARD." JUST DON'T

* * *

"You're kidding, Owen", a serious sixty-five-year-old (who still looked about twenty-six) Rose Tyler said.

"No."

"You have to be. First, I collapse and turn into a non-human. Then-"

"Your DNA's been changing forever, if you care to recall."

"Ok, so I finally make it to the other end. Now you're saying I'm pregnant.", her eyebrows shot up to her hairline. "It's impossible. I can tell you that right now."

The old doctor sighed and sat across the table from Rose in her flat, giving seventy-year-old Gwen the look. She got up to make tea. She knew where she wasn't needed.

"Look, Rose, I know you think it's impossible. But maybe something happened that you can't remember. It's been very stressful for you in the past year. Maybe you went out to get a drink and something escalated."

Rose glared at him. "You know for a fact, Owen, that I don't drink any more. You also know that it wouldn't do anything if I did. Don't you dare accuse me of anything."

Owen ran a hand over his almost bald head and sighed. "I just don't know any more. I can't find out what's wrong, but that's work all the bloodwork points to, Rose."

"Why does something have to always be wrong? Maybe something's actually right for once. Like not having those stupid migraines any more. Have you ever thought of that?" At his unsure expression she continued, "You've seen aliens before, Owen. You work with them. Why does it have to be wrong?"

"Because I've seen aliens, but none of my friends have never turned into one."

"So you specist, or whatever they're called."

"No", he shook his head, "I'm just worried. Think about it, Rose. How could this happen? What could cause this? It's not like you've been at Torchwood or anything."

Rose placed her elbows on the table and her hands in her hands. "I don't know. I really don't."

"Maybe-", Owen stared off into space, "maybe I could clear some space in the Torchwood lab. Bring you in at night and make sure no loonies are working. I can get you in there and scan, see if you've actually pregnant. If you're not, I'll write it up as some weird alien thing and never bring it up again. If you are,", he looked her in the eye, "I going to need some explanation."

* * *

"Well?", Rose asked as Owen and Gwen looked over the results.

"You're having a girl."

Rose gaped at the doctor. "You're kidding, right?" She looked over at Gwen. "Right?"

"Not in the slightest.", Owen said.

"Rose, don't be ashamed to tell us anything. We're your friends.", Gwen softly reminded.

"I don't have anything to hide!", Rose said exasperatedly at her friends' faces. "Really. I haven't been with anyone since, well, since John-", she swallowed and let out a swallow breath.

"It's okay", Gwen rubbed her shoulder, "I believe you, Rose. I don't how it could've happened, but I believe you."

"I'd be impossible for her to have anything to hide. She's only been pregnant for about a week. I'm guessing close to the time of her species change", Owen said, looking up at the clock. "It's about time for a shift change. We better be going."

As they crept down the quiet, pristine white hallway and out to the jeep, Rose thought about how this could've happened. The change in DNA or species or whatever had her surprised, but somehow she excepted like it happen after all the years of not ageing and healing quickly. She personally thought it was a side effect of the Bad Wolf, when she had opened the heart of the TARDIS. But how was she to explain the Time Vortex to a perfectly logical medical doctor? Now being pregnant, that was a shock to her system. Immediately, she began processing ideas thought her head at lightening speed. (Another nice side effect.) At first, Rose couldn't think of how it could've happened. Surely it wasn't because of her DNA change. What could've made it happen?

Then it hit her, and she stopped right before getting into the vehicle and paled.

"What is it, Rose?", Gwen asked worriedly.

"Come on and get in. We need to go. You know they'd do anything to have you as a test project now.", Owen warned.

Rose climbed in the back and buckled up. "I think I remember, but I'm not for sure. It was a really long time. Back when-", she paused, "-back when I was still travelling with the Doctor."

"Go on", Gwen told her encouragingly as Owen pulled out of the parking lot.

"We went to this planet- I don't even remember why- and it was completely uninhabited except for this makeshift building. These aliens, people, had built it out of their crashed ship. Apparently they an experiments in their spare time. They injected me with something and said that I was going to have a child." Rose laughed, "It seems so funny now, but I was scared and embarrassed then. Nothing ever came of it, so I didn't tell the Doctor."

It was quiet for a moment before Owen spoke up. "But that was decades ago. The embryo couldn't have just, I don't know, stayed there. Could it? It seems rather unlikely. It seems they used your DNA. Whose else's did they use?"

Rose paled again. "Oh, gosh. What if I have a half-whatever-I-am and whatever-they-were and my child had tentacles."

"So your keeping it then?", Gwen asked.

"Of course, why wouldn't I?"

"I don't know, I mean, you don't know who the father is."

"Well, Owen kept the results or whatever, yeah?"

"Yeah, they're in my bag though."

"We can just read them when we get back to my flat then."

Rose was shocked once again later as she and Owen looked over the scan. She recognized the DNA, or RNA, from her time in the TARDIS. The baby was half-Time Lord, and she only knew of one. In fact, she was so shocked that she passed out cold onto the diningroom floor.

This was truly an impossible child.

* * *

Of course, Torchwood found out. Whether someone had unintentionally squealed, or the scans had been recorded on the med lab equipment, Rose didn't know. But when Owen had come up to her flat in the middle of the day, six months after they found out she was expecting, she had to run.

It was nice to do that again, disregarding the fact that Torchwood was after her and her child.

* * *

Two months after she had gone into hiding, Rose realised that it was only going to get worse. She had managed to stay in the basement of Jack Jr's house. (Thankfully, he was a nurse.) Sadly, Owen had died after a struggle with some Torchwood agents, and that was when she knew it had gone bad. (Gwen had also dissappeared, but no one knew where to.) Rose figured that if she was going to find the letter that her mum had written it best be found sooner than later. She sneaked out of the Harkness' basement and into the chilly London night. Taking a bus as close as she dare get, she finally realised she had no way to defend herself. Rose would have to use a gun. Yes, John nor the Doctor would like it much, but did that really matter right know? Her child was in danger and that was all it took to convince herself to take up arms; a big honking gun, much like the one she had while crossing the universes.

Getting into Torchwood was easy, almost too easy, but Rose knew the security measures like the back of her hand from working there so many years. She had almost made it to the floor where Pete's office used to be when she heard an alarm start to blare.

Bleeding lasers, Rose thought to herself as she backtracked as fast as she could down the stairs. The speed at which she went seemed insane for a woman a month away from giving birth, but the sound of footsteps above her kept her going. Heaving, she made it to the basement. It was darker than she remembered, but storage would be a wonderful place to hide, and escape out a window. Rose stopped in a hallway that branched of the main one, just out of the light, for a breather when she heard voices. At first, she was ready to run, but then she recognized the voice.

Jack Harkness.

No, not the son, but the actual man. The man who was dead. (It was funny, the way she remembered every little thing like that.) Quickly, she got to her feet and stepped cautiously out into the hallway. It could be a trap. Her jaw fell.

Before her stood one _Captain_ Jack Harkness, young as ever with a World War II coat and all, and the person beside him, who left no chance that it was this world's Jack, herself. A much older version of herself. She could tell by the eyes, and the lack of a baby bump whatsoever.

"Rose?", Jack asked unbelieving the sight of a very pregnant Rose in all black, carrying a gun half the size of herself.

"Jack?", she asked back, "The real one?"

He nodded and the future Rose shook her head. "Oh, no, no, no. He brought us to the wrong time. Don't say a word, Jack. She- I might have a mental breakdown.", she pushed back from the way they had come, "Now go back to the- the- our transport."

"Rose, I'm not going say something that would-"

"Just do as I say, would you?", future Rose hissed, "You don't understand the situation. Now go back and don't say a word to either of them."

"Either of them?", the present Rose asked with a raised eyebrow as Jack disappeared, glancing at her a few more times before turning the corner.

"Nothing you need to worry about, but I do have something to tell you. You need to high-tail it out of here before those agents come."

Present Rose shook her head. "No, I've got to find that letter from mum. And since when did we get so bossy?"

"We're here to get it, and since I- we've realised that the universes aren't so kinds as we thought they were."

"You mean I don't get it now? Does that mean they-?", she blanched.

Future Rose shook her head. "No, no, they don't get you. We just escape, and now I know why. You have to leave."

Present Rose nodded. "Okay. Does she- the baby, I mean, is she okay?"

"Yeah.", she give a lopsided smile, "Go on then, I'll keep them busy", she nodded to the gun.

She handed her future self the gun before heading to a room with a window and then asked, "What's her name?"

Future Rose laughed, "As my sister would say, spoilers. Just think of where you want to be the most when you name her."

Present Rose gave her a grin before turning serious. "How long is it before we she Jack?"

The other stopped smiling. "A long time-", she turned her head away, "a very long time, but it should be worth it."

"Should be?"

"Spoilers. Go on then."

* * *

In 2052, at the age of sixty-six, Rose Tyler gave birth to a small, but healthy baby girl with a shock of brown hair. At first, Rose almost hated her for coming so late in life. Why couldn't she have come when John or he mum and dad were alive? Now she was stuck here, having her baby girl in a basement of her friend's children's house.

"What are you going to name her?", Emily, Jack Jr's wife, asked as she watch Rose cuddle the baby softly, with tears coming down her cheeks.

"Something about the stars." _Somewhere I'd like to be._ Rose wiped a tear away and smiled. "Carina."

"Carnia?"

"It's a constellation, it also means beloved", she smiled and tucked the blanket around the small baby.

"Carina Andrea Smith."

* * *

_**A/N:** _Awh. :) Lovely name, eh? Not usual. I hate usual.


	35. Chapter 35: Story of Your Father

_**A/N:**_ Ya'll thought I actually found a TARDIS and got back kind of late. Well, yes, yes I did. ;)

* * *

Rose found Carina to be definitely Time Lord. (It was also found that she was part whatever-he-mother-was, because there wasn't a drop of human in her. It was odd, but they had come to the conclusion that over time, the original DNA from Rose kept changing, making Carina part Time Lord, part unknown.)

The two had moved to a quieter part of town, away from Torchwood. No one there knew that the little girl was alive, and Rose had stopped dying her hair and using an absurd amount of eye-liner, making her look older. Rose was kept fonded by her stash of money that she had retrieved from the Torchwood Worker's Bank many years back. She homeschooled Carina, keeping her brilliance away from the curious public and prying scientists. She was four years old now and currently sitting upside down on the couch, a tattered copy of _The Two Towers_ in her hands, and her dark brown, curly hair splayed out, humming an ancient (in her point of view, at least) soft rock song. She could've just as easily been reading the TARDIS manual, Rose thought sadly as she prepared chicken salad for lunch and looked up at the calendar on the wall.

August the third, 2058. Carina's birthday was tomorrow. Rose desperately wished that she could give her the kinds of things other younger kids could have for her birthday, the things she really didn't have growing up. A big birthday party with lots of friends, a picnic at the park as a family, or even a trip to the zoo. Of course, she had simply asked for more books and piano music. Rose was sure that Carina was going to be a science geek when she starting talking and reading at the age of two, but instead she was turning out to be quite the dreamer, often breaking Rose's heart when she mentioned going to the stars out her window.

She would make tomorrow a good day, she decided to herself while wiping a single tear. She'd invite their small circle of friends over: the Harkness', Smith's (Mickey's great-grandchildren), and de Souza's. They all had at least a child Carina's age.

* * *

Two years later, Rose Smith came back from window of her home and sat down in a old recliner. It was nearly one in the morning, and she was keeping lookout for the Sycorax, again. They were invading earth once again and there was nothing she could do about it. She choked on the bad memories as she rocked, fingering the edge of her faded grey shirt and sighed. The image of her husband dying was still vivid in her mind. A tear fell down her cheek when she heard Carina cry out. Since she had tuned eight, nightmares had plagued her and Rose, now telepathic could sense disorder from her daughter's mind. The problem was how to fix it. Rose could teach her daughter about almost anything and everything, and Carina understood it. Have her fix her daughter's mind, she didn't know where to start.

For the first time in years, she wished for the Doctor.

She quickly got up from her seat, wiping the tear as she went down the hall into a purple bedroom. The moonlight shone onto the floor and a brunette, spirally haired girl thrashed in the bed, murmuring and crying. Rose went over to her daughter's beside and shook Carina awake.

"C'mon, darling, it's only a dream", Rose whispered as the girl sobbed and threw herself into he mother's arms. "Sh."

"Mum", she hiccuped, "I saw it again."

"I'm sorry", Rose winced and hugged her daughter tighter, and started to cry. Whenever Rose thought about vivid memories, she couldn't seem to keep herself telepathically. Nothing like this had started happening until Carina turned eight. Rose guessed it was a Time Lord thing.  
The little girl sniffed now and brought here head up to readjust her spot in her mother's lap. "Is that- is that my dad". She paused and Rose stiffened, "I mean, the man that you think of?"

"No", Rose stroked her daughter's hair. "It's not, but that what he looks like."

Carina sat up to look at her mother in the eyes, and Rose saw her daughter's. She always seemed older than she was, and Rose guessed it was the knowledge that floated around in her Gallifreyan mind.

"How? There can't be two of the excat same people", the small, freckled nose scrunched up.

Her mum chuckled wetly and wiped her face. "It's a long story, love." Carina's face fell and Rose smile at her. "Do you want me to tell you?"

She nodded and Rose started to help her back in bed, but Carina asked to stay in her mum's room, to which Rose decided was a better idea anyway, considering the Sycorax. Glancing out the livingroom window as Rose carried her daughter past it, she sighed and Carina looked up.

"What's wrong, mum?"

She sighed. There was no use lying to a child who could read your emotions. "There's some very bad people out there, Carina."

"Aliens?", she sounded almost hopeful.

"Yes, bad ones."

Silence occurred until they reached the doorway of the main bedroom. "Will they get us, mummy?"

Rose looked down at her little girl and brush a curl out of the way. "Not if I can help it, love."

She spent the next half hour relating the story of John to her daughter. Rose hid nothing, because she knew that Carina could sense it she was lying. It had happened before.

"If my daddy looks like him, mum, is he the same kind of person?", Carina asked thoughtfully, laying on her elbows under the blanket.

Rose rolled on her right side to look at her daughter. "No, love, I don't think so. See, John, he didn't have the same feeling as your dad, so they thought differently."

"But you said they had the same memories."

She was amazed with her daughter's mature thought process sometimes. "It's like when you watch a movie or read a book. You know exactly what happened, just like the people in the story do, but you can never feel the way they do, because you didn't go through what they did. Can you understand that?"

"I think so, but didn't daddy tell you that he was the same."

Rose's jaw hardened. Honestly, it was something that she was somewhat bitter about. "Yes, he did."

"Are you mad at him, mum?"

Running a hand over Carina's messy hair she said, "Only a little bit. He didn't know what exactly happened, no matter how much he says he knows everything", Rose grinned in the remembrance of his ninth's body stubbornness.

The girl gave her a toothy smile. "Does Daddy knows more than you?"

Rose laughed. "A whole lot more, love, but I think I'm getting caught up.

"You think he'd want to meet me if he could?", Carina asked sincerely.

She sighed, pressing her lips together as she brushed a curly strand away from her daughter's eyes. "Your father doesn't know about you, Carina, neither does John. You came as surprise."

"But would he _want_ to see me, mum? Please don't lie to me. You said you wouldn't.", she added.

"I think he'd want to meet you, but your daddy doesn't do families, Carina. He used to have one, they all died in a war a long time ago. I think that made him scared of having one again."

Rose had to go on to explain how Carina herself came about, and Carina seemed to struggle with the fact that he father, the Doctor, wouldn't want have her close, but then she remembered that he didn't want her mum close either. Or maybe he did and just couldn't do it. She decided to go about a safer questions to ask her mum. "What war did his family die in?"

"A very, very big one. They called it The Last Great Time War."

"A Time War? Like a war over time?"

"Something like that, yes."

Carina's face became confused. "How could there be a war over time?"

"Let me think about that one, it's had to explain."

"But the last one? Who won?"

Rose didn't even try to smile as she remembered the Doctor's stricken look whenever he mentioned it. "No one. Everybody lost, Carina."

"Did they all die, even the bad people?"

Her mother's breath hitched. "Yes, all but your father."

"How would you know?"

Rose rolled onto her back, and then turned backing to her daughter, sighing. "Because I killed the last ones."

Carina sat up on her knees and stared at her mother. "But you said it was a long time ago. How did you get there? Are you as old as him? Why would you kill the rest of them?"

Rose sat up also and leaned against the headboard. "They were going to kill your dad, Carina, and I had to stop them."

"Why?"

"Why did they want to kill him, or why I had to stop them?"

"Both."

"He's a Time Lord. The Daleks, those were the bad guys, they hated the Time Lords."

"A Time Lord?"

"That's his species, persay. Your's too."

"Are you human then, mum?", Carina asked with a hint of sadness lacing her voice.

Rose shook her head. "No, I used to be."

Her daughter gave her a confused looked. "Used to be? How did you change? What are you now?"

"I don't know what I am, love. No one does. I changed when I saved your dad."

"How?"

"By looking into the heart of the TARDIS."

The TARDIS, his spaceship? How does it have a heart?", Carina asked and he mum laughed.

"Yes, but don't let him hear you call it that. It's living."

"His ship's alive?", she confirmed in awe.

"Yep"

"How?"

"Time Lord magic", Rose smirked.

"There's no such thing, is there, mum?"

"Depends on who you ask, love."

Carina yawned and laid back under the covers with her mum, snuggling into her side. "What was it like, mum, when you killed them?"

Rose's heart skipped a beat. "Why would you want to know?"

She shrugged.

"I didn't like it at all, but they would've taken over the whole universe, and then I would've never had you.", Rose squeezed her daughter in a hug.

"Are you sad about it, mum?"

"Very sad, but it had to be done. Sometimes, Carina, you have to force yourself to do things you don't want to do. It's just part of life."

"What if something hurts you though?"

"Something good will always come out of it. I've got you haven't I? Even after your daddy left and then John died."

Carina was silent for a few moments, digesting the thought before she continued to question her mother. "Did you love him?"

"Who?"

"My dad."

"I did love him."

"Do you now?"

"I don't know, Carina."

"Did he love you?"

Rose tried to chuckle. "You sure ask a lot of questions."

"Did he, mum?"

"I don't know, love. Sometimes I don't think so, but sometimes I do. It's nothing you need to worry about."

The young girl let it be and yawned. She closed her eyes and doubt came to mind.

"Mum?"

"Yes, Carina?", Rose asked exasperatedly.

"Do you want me?"

Rose sat up almost immediately and looked her daughter in the eye. A flashback that she never knew of came to mind, and she was sure to block it from her daughter.

_A blonde woman comes home, thinking her ten-year-old daughter is asleep. She's obviously tipsy as Rose peeks around the corner. Her mum has come home like this since school ended. Jackie is crying and mumbling on about losing a job and having to support a child. Rose mistakes it for the idea that she isn't wanted and runs away by climbing out the window and moving from porch to porch to enter Nana's , their old neighbour woman, house. She sneaks out the front, sure to lock it behind her . The young, thin girl makes her way down the stairs and into the street, where sketchy people lurk about. Rose ducks her way into an alley, planning on making her way to her friend Keisha's house. She's stopped by two burly men with alcohol heavy on their breaths. They chuckle and ask if she should be in bed, if they should take her home. Rose tries to run, but one grabs her wrist and it comes out of place. She screeches as his hand covers her mouth. Suddenly, a blue light comes out of nowhere. The man drops her and falls to the ground along with his friend. Rose tries to scramble away, crying when she notices a tall man with a leather jacket. _

"_Hey, there, Sweetheart. I'm not here to hurt you.", his American accent comforts her and he places a gun back on his belt._

_She stops and bites her lip to stop crying while holding her wrist._

_He looks down at her arm and a shadow comes over his face. "Did they hurt you?" _

_She nods and he can barely tell in the dark alley, but the men on the ground start to stir and the American holds out his hand and Rose walks toward him. When they reach to end, and the lamppost lights her features, he gasps. _

"_Rose?", he asks. She nods and he whistles though his teeth the Doctor isn't going to like this one. Jack doesn't know much about Rose's past, but he's pretty sure that he just changed her future and accidentally broke a rule of time travellers. Not that it matters, because this is Rose. Jack would gladly brake any rule of time for his adopted sister. He scoops the young girl up and she starts to cry again. He reassures her that they're going to get her arm better. "The Doctor won't like that I'm bringing you in, laws and all that jazz, but he's just gonna have to get over it."_

_She says her first words to him, and they brake his heart, the way she simply explains it. "Mum can't pay for a doctor."_

_He gives her a winning smile. "What if I pay for it?" _

_Rose gives him an odd look, but then nods, giving him permission. Jack makes his way with little Rose to the TARDIS. Stepping in, he yells and ignores the little girl's shock face at seeing the bigger-on-the-inside room. "Rose? Doctor?" _

"_The Doctor's not in, Jack.", a blonde enters from the hallway, "He went out to-" She pauses, and her face turns white as sheet. "How in the world did you find, well, me?" _

"_Long story, blondie. You know the rules right? No contact with yourself from other timestreams?" She nods gravely, remembering the Reapers. "And though I'm pretty sure it's all right in the TARDIS, let's not take chances, shall we?"_

_Older Rose agrees and make their way to the med lab. Young Rose is placed on the table and she notices the woman sits in padded chair in the corner, saying or doing nothing except simply watching her with a sense of longing. When the American man, Jack, finishes fixing her arm, she's amazed by how quickly it took and she's very sure that these odd people aren't from around here. Jack gives her some water, saying it will make her feel better. She feels herself falling asleep and she closes her eyes, listening to the pair's quiet conservation. _

"_Whatever you saw, Jack, please, don't tell the Doctor."_

"_Shouldn't he know about this?" _

"_I don't want him to be bothered."_

"_Bothered?"_

"_OK, fine, I just don't want him to know? All irght?" _

"_Why not, Rose?" I've already changed what happened, he's going to sense it. You know he is." _

"_Just don't. Tell him- Tell him that you saw me, but that's all." _

_Then it all went black, and when she woke up the next morning, there was no knowledge of any of it._

Rose shook off the newly revealed memory and looked sternly. "Carina, don't ever dare second guess how much I love you, and how much I want you with me. You're my daughter, and whether you were expected or not, I'm glad I have you. Understand?"

Carina nodded and Rose laid back down, embracing her daughter while they both fell into a deep sleep. Until the Sycorax came, that is.

* * *

_I never knew that I could go on  
I hope you had the time of your life  
The stars twinkling above  
I long to hear that, "All aboard!"  
Small and beautiful  
Quiet nights and crazy days with you  
Under the moonlit sky  
When I sleep, I dream, and it gets me by_

* * *

_**A/N:**_ So, I didn't actually find a TARDIS. If I had, you would've never heard from me again. I simply had a three-week-long, summer job with no wifi nor laptop available, but I am back. _*starts playing Be Prepared from The Lion King*_


	36. Chapter 36: I Crossed the Universe Today

_**A/N:**_ So Carina's gotten a tad older since the last chapter and I'm afraid both Rose and the Doctor are treading emotionally downhill. Too bad things won't get better in this chapter.

* * *

Carina ran inside the woman's bathroom of the public school and shut the door behind her quietly as she could. This was the closest she had ever been to a Sycorax, and as a skinny fourteen-year-old, she was no match for them. They had been invading the earth for six years and there was almost no one left. Carina hadn't even seen any other people in London for two years except for her hodpodge family: her mum, who she currently hadn't seen for three weeks; Jack Harkness the thirds, about two years older than herself and very techie; Christina, same age as Jack and descent of a lord and lady, slightly sassy, but an awesome friend; and Adelia Smith, Mickey Smith's great-grandaughter and Carina's age, and was tagging along with Rose on the other side of the city. The other kids had lost their parents, whether they were only separated, imprisoned by the Sycorax, or dead. No one had much hope any more with the exception of Project Other Side, as Jack insisted they call it.

When she was about nine, Carina had been sifting through her mother's things she had brought with them to the underground for something to read. She had come across John Smith's notes and questioned her mother about them. They were written in half-English and half-Gallifreyan. Carina recognised the Gallifreyan language from her dreams that she had. It seemed the learning of their language was passed down though a common knowledge, and Rose set her to work on interpreting the Gallifreyan part because she only knew a few words. Although she had no idea what it all meant at the time, Carina interpreted the language and Rose pieced the formulas together. It turned out to be a way to cross dimensions. It also turned out that it worked. Together, the children, while Rose was out looking for survivors and food, had sent several things across the dimensions. An apple, a pair of shoes, a stray dog, and, accidentally, Christina's diary. The only problem with getting things back. They didn't try with the apple, they got the shoes back, but they fell apart , the dog must have moved because they couldn't find it, but the diary was successful and it stayed intact. Rose didn't really have a plan of what they would do if they all crossed the Void. Blimey, she wasn't sure if they would stay _alive_. She was sure she would, having already died by torture in the hands of the Sycorax, but the kids were a different story. Would they live?

It was a question to be answered later because Carina had to get away from these homicidal, skeletal monsters. She and her mum had already been caught once (the scars on her back made sure she never forgot that), and miraculously had gotten away with help from an aged man. And by an aged man, she really meant a telepathic, aged alien who had help them not only escape, but also help Carina with her telepathic abilities.

Carina pressed her ear to the door and listened. Heavy footsteps resounded in the hallway and she quietly slipped off her trainers and put them in her locked backpack.

Jack had made the bag for her to hide their formulas and notes in since they were always on the move. It unlocked with a press to her thumb on a rectangle, black square that seemed to be made of plastic. It registered her body heat and thumb print pattern, so only she could open it. But even if someone forced her too, it wouldn't' open because she could change her body temperature.

Pulling out a small torch, she made her as quietly as possible to the back stall of the bathroom. Carina looked around the enclosed area and noticed a cabinet, probably holding cleaning supplies. Smiling to herself, she stepped onto the commode, then carefully stood on the handicapped bar, and, after holding the penlight with her teeth, she finally pulled herself onto the top of the cabinet. Carina took the light out of her mouth and inspected it, noticing a crack. _Darn it,_ she whispered to the room. Flashing the light, she noticed something that made her extremely happy. Ceiling tile. Old, primitive, and a pain to put up, yes, but it was just the thing to she needed to escape and join back up with Jack and Christina. Sticking the torch between her teeth once again, she pushed up on a piece of ceiling above her head and moved it backwards. She took a firm grip of the metal framing that held the top of the wall and pulled herself up, grunting as her thumb slipped against something sharp. As soon Carina was perched on the framing, she turned around and wrapped leg around a metal bar slanting to the ceiling, and pulled the tile back in place. She shuffled her way down to a place where several pieces of the metal framework connected, sat down, and stuffed the torch into her pocket. She smiled as she looked up and saw a window.

She had escaped them. Now all she had to do was regroup.

Brushing away a frizzy curl that had fallen out of place from her braid, she crawled her way to the window along the metal beams. Looking out the window, she saw a groups of trees. Carina searched them for any sign of her of friends, and then noticed a bit of a black jacket sticking out from behind a tree trunk.

She was saved.

* * *

Martha Jones finally felt like a passenger on the TARDIS with the Doctor and Jack. She had her own key, and now the three were off to a 32nd century vacationing planet that was supposed to look like the Maldives Islands. She couldn't wait to feel the warm sand between her toes and a cold drink in her hand after this long day.

They might've changed their mind though, if they hadn't missed the call from her mother, warning her that Doctor and Jack weren't safe. Who was Harold Saxon anyway? And how did he know that Martha was with him?

* * *

Rose sat with a sick family on the other side of London. It was sure to be their last night.

Over here, the devastation was horrendous. Clean water was non-existent, decent food hard to come by, and no care for the wounded or sick. The streets stunk of rotting flesh and it turned and twisted her stomach into knots. Her tears fell as she was reminded off some of the places the Doctor took her, where she wanted to stop and help, but to do so would be fruitless or wrinkle Time. This time though, Rose thought, she could've helped. She had been so busy staying away from Torchwood -thank goodness that wretched place had been bombed- that she hadn't done a thing to stop the Sycorax.

Perhaps she could've, but she didn't. In fact, she had lost her daughter's best friend to them today.

Another race wiped out by Rose Tyler Smith, the abomination of the Daleks. Thinking of the past, tears fell. How could have she been so heartless as to stay in hiding with her daughter. She might have done something, anything, but she didn't. Her heart physically hurt as the baby in her arms whined itself into exhaustion, and then was still.

"_You even look like him._

_You'll keep on changing, and in forty years time, fifty, there'll be this woman, this strange woman..._

_...but she's not Rose Tyler. Not any more. _

_She's not even human."_

Tears fell as she laughed cruelly to herself. She was becoming like the Doctor, the man she had idolized in her young life. The man she almost hated now. Rose Smith was becoming him. Old, always moving, always trying to save someone, and failing.

* * *

Carina stared at the taller boy in disbelief as he whispered his plan to her and Christina, her tall, dark haired friend.

"Your kidding me", she said.

"Carina, I'm deathly serious", Jack said with a dramatic pause, "you have to be the one to cross. Isn't your dad there, the Doctor? You're always talking about how your mum told you stories of how he saved people. Shouldn't he be able to help us?"

"Those are just stories. He doesn't even know about me, Jack! I can't just find him in an entire universe, even if he could help us!"

"At least you'll be closer there, and safer."

"S_afer?_ What about you guys? My mum? Adelia?"

Christina looked at Jack and then back to Carina, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Your mum- She called in on the comm today." Carina knew by the tone of her voice what had happened. She steeled herself for the next statement. "Adelia's gone."

Carina took a shuddering breath and blinked away the tears. "Why does everyone I know have to disappear?"

Christina de Souza shook her head and held her younger friend close. "I'm still here, and your mum."

"So am I", Jack said, joining in on their group hug, "we've just got to work together. You have to go, Carina. You're the only one who knows him, and your mum can't go, she's the only adult we have."

She nodded into his shoulder.

* * *

The next morning, they had made their way to what used to be the front of the Torchwood Institute.

"This is the spot you'll have to be in if you want to come back", Jack warned her while handing her a small, silver, metal device with a red button.

"And you'll to take that backpack with you", added Christina, "We can't have the Sycorax getting to the other side."

"Did you ask my mum about this?", she asked the two warily.

"Um, no", Jack said unsure, but then continued on firmly, "But this needs to be done. She gave me the order to send us there if things got bad, but honestly, this dimension retriever can only move one person and you're the smallest."

"Hey, now."

"I'm not making fun of you, Shortie."

Carina mocked glared at him while Christina rolled her eyes. "Get over already, and don't tease her, Jack." She pulled Carina into a hug. "Find him for us, okay?"

"I'll try. It's me against an entire universe, you know." She turned to hug Jack.

"Bye, Jack. Take care of mum and Christina for me, yeah?"

"Have you seen them fight? They don't need caring for."

"Just keep building these retrievers then."

He smiled and let go, but kept a palm on her cheek. "Bye then, doll. I hope to see you soon."

Carina smiled at him and the other girl as he dropped his hand, trying to keep emotions at bay. Emotions always made things harder than they should be. "Same here. Here goes nothing."

And Jack, the third, Harkness pushed his side of the hand-held machine and sent her into a new dimension.

* * *

_He had landed on a planet that was carved out from the water, wind, and sand. He had found it a few centuries ago, right after his banishment, and now he wanted to share it with her too. Of course, he wanted to impressed too. Isn't that what guys did to their girls? _

_Their._

_It was there again. Possession of something that would die -yes, she will die, Doctor, he told himself- or walk away, be torn away. Violently, he reminded himself. It was nice to dream of this place with her though. He often dreamt it on a particularity stressful day. Pterosaurs flew overhead and she didn't mind, but rather her face shone with the excitement and wonder of seeing somethign so new and alive. The question burned in his mind. He knew she was brutallly honest, his Rose. _

_His again. No, Doctor, she's gone now. Someone else's. Not that anyone could have her in the first place. Someone probably belonged to her, and it most likely wasn't him. _

"_How long are you going to stay with me?" _

_A simple question laced with so many others. Is it worth it? Do you really care? Is it enough? Will it be enough? Am I enough? Do you love me? Can I love you?_

"_Forever." _

_Oh, how he hated this part with a passion. The glow on her face, the soft smile, the blush when she whips her face around after seeing his grin. When they walk back into the TARDIS, hand and hand. He hates it because it wasn't true and both of them lied to themselves. It would never be true. _

_Never say never._

_Never say forever. _

_It was a beautiful lie, though. One that had given him hope that he hadn't felt in centuries, or ever. The fact that a another being cared for himself without thought of the monster he thought himself to be._

_He hopes she knows her importance to him, that he only strove for her happiness, that he adored her. But maybe, maybe it wasn't enough. He could've asked her to stay, but in the end he realises something. Love is letting go. Even if the strings are attached to your heart and they brake and bleed, let go. It's the only true way to love a person. _

_But how he misses her. That's how you know you love someone, he guesses, when you can't go anywhere, do anything, without wishing the other person was right there, next to you, seeing it too. _

_The Doctor realises for the first time how much he loves Rose Tyler, and it brings a sob to his hearts. It is his quick beginning, it is his slow ending. _

* * *

_What happens when all the lights go out?  
There's no way back  
We're stranded now  
What happens when everything goes dark?  
It's got no life  
Left in its heart  
__I'm sorry, I'm so sorry  
__Seems I'm not that clever after all_

* * *

**_A/N:_ **Well, well, well. Seems they have found a way to the other universe, but how does that work? Spoilers, darling. It'll be explained in a later chapter. Oh, by the way, I FINISHED THE HUNGER GAMES YESTERDAY. It's a perfectly fabulous book. May the odds be _ever_ in your favour! *three finger salute*


	37. Chapter 37: The Hard Wait - Part One

**_A/N:_** Hey, I took a little trip in my TARDIS to Narnia, but then we got sidetracked and had to help out Sam and Frodo, and then I coincidently got reaped for the 50th Hunger Games in the future, and then Peter Pan came by after I came back in my TARDIS, and I had to help him defeat Capitan Jack Sparrow. Or help him. I can't remember which.

_Did I mention chapter sixteen is fixed?_

* * *

_2067 in Pete's World, but 2020 in the Original Universe..._

Carina nearly fell flat on her face in the hot sand. Raising her head slowly, she blinked in the blinding sunlight, trying to get a glimpse of her surroundings. The hot sun was already making her sweat and making her head hurt worse. It had been a weird feeling, travelling dimensions like that. It felt like being pulled and stretched from every direction. Her head was pounding and aching. Groaning, she pulled her self to her feet.

"Blimey", she muttered to herself as she slipped off her black, leather jacket and placing it in her backpack, along with the silver dimension retriever. And there it was, a city in the distance with what looked like adobe. Maybe she was earlier in Egypt or something. Time didn't run as fast over here anyway. She grinned to herself, thinking that maybe there was a chance to save the people she loved.

* * *

Her first thought upon entering the city was that this most definitely wasn't earth. First clue? Spaceships and Jeep-like vehicles were coming in and out of a huge gate that led it's way into the dusty, but modern city. Carina's second clue was that there were no humans around. There were aliens of all kinds, but the most prominent ones were lizard-like people that were slightly taller than the average human and came in every ugly colour imaginable. They also didn't speak English, because the guards at the gate, instead of accepting her smile and answering her questions, decided to grip her arms and check her ankle for something.

"Oi", she squeaked at them when they tried to take her bag, "What do you think your doing?"

They simply grunted and yelled something in a gruff, harsh language that attracted more of their buddies. They came over and confiscated the bag and dragged her along to what look like a humongous city hall made of marble and wood. The first room was huge and held aliens of all kinds, some walking as though they owned the place, and other looking down with their hands (clawed, webbed, some normal) or feet (normal, hooved, furry) tied. Some dared to look up at her face and gave her a pitying look. Slaves, she guessed, sickened. The Sycorax had some.

All of a sudden, a horrible feeling came over her.

They dragged her up a huge staircase in the middle of the room and went down the right hall, bringing into what looked like an office. An oakish wood covered almost the whole interior that held a desk, chair, bookcases, and filing cabinets. The ceiling was white and shell-like. Carnia thought it to be beautiful until their grinding language filled the room and she wondered what they were saying.

"Honourable Praefectus, we've found this human wondering outside the gate." The dark green lizard guy at the desk seemed to look her over and she diverted her gaze, studying the ceiling. "It has no number and no one seemed to recognize it when we came through the reception downstairs."  
"It just walked in?"  
"Yes, sir."

"You didn't see a strange ship or anything?"

"No, sir."

"Must be a drop off. Well, more income for us. Were you the ones to find it?"

The guards, dark blue and mustard yellow, nodded.

"I'll be sure you get compensation then, miles. Take it to the idenifaction room and have it listed as a city peon, and set in lined for training. It's obviously never been here before. I'll check in later."

"Yes, sir."

* * *

Carina had no idea what they were talking about. She'd only been able to pick out a few words that might mean things like _yes_ and _no_. What she did know what that she wanted her backpack, with her ticket back home, back. She had put up a fight, but it was to no avail. These people were stronger than she guessed. Yellow left Blue to drag her to a metal room where she was roughly handed off to what looked like a grandma lizard, dark gritty pink. Things were quickly explained and Blue left while Carina was taken into a smaller room. A young girl, who looked humanoid, but smaller with long, dark blue hair and a very pale complexion waited. Instructions were harshly given by Grandma and the door closed. Carina stood stock still and surveyed the room as the girl gaped at her.

"Can you speak English?"

The girl simply looked at her and rummage through a pile of clothes in the corner of the empty, metal room.  
"Any earth language then?"  
The girl pulled out a tan dress that was a tan colour and handed it to her. It was identical to the one she was wearing. Carina held the dress and the girl gave her a pitying look before talking in a lilting, almost musical language.

"I can't understand you", Carina kept telling her and the girl stopped talking, and pointed to Carina's jeans and grey-and-flowered shirt and then to the dress.

So she had to change. Awkwardly, Carina stripped down to her knickers and slipped on the rough, linen dress. It fit perfectly and Carina wondered how the girl had guessed her size so well. She picked up her clothes and folded them. The young girl took them and set them next the pile of clothes. Carina was about to put on her shoes and socks when the girl shook her head and took them, placing them with her clothes.

"Blimey, you guys are all about taking personal items. Can't I even have my shoes?", she asked, brushing a brown curl behind her ear.

The blue-haired girl looked confused, but then pointed to the door, to her own ankle, and then to Carina's ankle. Carina looked at the girl's ankle. There was a tattoo.

21-00-137

She looked at her own ankle and realised what the girl was trying to explain. Taking her things, giving her the outfit, the tattoo. Carina felt the throb of a panic thinking about how she'd be caught once. Suddenly, she went wild and tried to open the window at the other side of the small room, but it wouldn't help. They were way to high off the ground. Carina slid to the floor, her back resting against the wall. The girl sat next to her and held her hand until the woman came in.

* * *

Martha was in her room, on the phone with her mum, while the Doctor and Jack were tinkering with the TARDIS before heading to Kur-ha for some ice skating. They all were a little shaken by nearing dying and people being possessed by the sun. Cold weather was definitely next on the list of requirements of places to go.

The conservation had lolled and the two men were working in companionable silence when the TARDIS started screeching for the Doctor. Quickly, he pulled himself from under the console and fixed his glasses, focusing on the console screen. Jack followed and stood next to him, unable to read the words because they were written in Gallifreyain.

"What is it, Doc?"  
The Doctor's brow furrowed as he typed something in and a map appeared.  
"Well?"

"Some thing's fallen through the universe walls. I have no idea how, but it has", the Doctor ran a hand through his hair. "This isn't right. The universes should be collapsing or something. How'd they even get through?" He started pulling levers and pushing buttons while he ran around the console.

Jack stood watching and thinking. "You don't think- Maybe- It could be-", he trailed off.

The Doctor stood still and looked. "I don't think so, Jack. She's got him now. Even if she was-", he swallowed the lump in his throat. "Even if she was coming back, it couldn't be for a long time. But she'll have family, and she'll be happy. She won't want to leave", the Doctor barely spoke the last part as he pressed the last button. "Rasslion, with my luck, it's probably more Daleks."

Jack nodded and pointed a thumb down the hall. "I'll go get Martha."

A few minutes later, Jack and Martha found the Doctor once again pouring over the TARDIS screen, reading about the planet and time they were at.

"So, what's the plan?", Martha asked. "Jack told me what the TARDIS found."  
"Right", the Doctor rubbed his hands together. "So we're going to act as royalty. Though I'll warn you, Vertston isn't know for it's human rights, it's a slave planet. But if we don't mess it up, we'll do just fine."

They stared at him. "Yeah, no thanks", Martha said, "My race has had enough with slavery, thank you very much."  
"C'mon, I'll even let you be the queen", the Doctor whined.  
"Fine, but on one condition."  
"What's that?"  
"I'm queen of Freedonia and you are my assistants", she smirked.  
"But that's not fair, I'm the _Lord of Time_, may I remind you. I don't get to use that very often."  
"Thank goodness, because you're already full of yourself", Jack commented and earned an expression of approval from Martha, as well as a glare from the Doctor. "We're popping in and out, right?"

"True", the Time Lord sighed and checked the console screen, "We're about a exactly a year after it landed here. It shouldn't make much of a difference." He turned to the doors. "Allon-sy!"

* * *

It was only a few months until she had finally broken down. It was while she was being whipped for one hundredth and sixty-second time that Carina decided to give in. She slunk to ground and laid on her stomach while it kept coming until someone yelled to stop. It was Monari, the dark green lizard guy from the marble-and-wood city hall.

Oh, how she hated him.

Carina had never hated a soul in her life until she came to this world, and now she hated several people. One, the universe for being so cruel. Two, Monari, for the pain and toture that he subjected her to. His job's done now, she thought to herself as someone pulled her up. She winced as the harsh language made more sense in her ears. (Their language here on Vertson wasn't too hard to learn.)

"Had enough?", Monari spoke and she could hear the smirk in his voice, but she kept her head down in fear of another punishment. She didn't speak either, but simply nodded.  
"Put it in for the night. It can come back to work in the morning."

After getting back to the servant's room that was more like barracks, she sighed and laid on the bed. It was hot, sticky, and her back stung. Carina desperately want to get her backpack and get out of here. But it wouldn't happen. She obviously wasn't strong enough to get out herself. How would anyone who knew her, find her anyway? They couldn't. She faced the facts. Carina Andrea Smith was stuck, as a slave in the lowest class, and was never getting out.

No one would be coming for 00-00-84.

(At least, not for a while.)

* * *

Martha walked in front of the Doctor, who held the physic paper, and Jack, who kept grinning at various aliens. They had gotten through the gate easily enough and the Doctor thought they should get through easily, depending on what it was that came through the Void. They were being escorted to the governor of this town as Queen of Freedonia, her personal researcher, and the head of her, what they called, peons. Martha appeared to be unimpressed at the government building's architecture as they were led up a huge flight of stairs. They all had decided to wear purple, the colour of royalty on this planet, and people were showing them utmost respect. Jack noticed that there weren't any humans. At all. It was weird, but travelling with the Doctor, you get used to these kind of things. After all three were graciously accepted by Monari, the _Praefectus, _and given tea and the planet's version of cookies, the Doctor began asking him questions.

"So, um, _Honourable_, her highness has been looking for a personal, er, slave", he winced at his own words.  
Monari gave him a grin. "Then you've come to the right place. Our production is so big here, not even the Shadow Proclamation tries to stop us."  
The Doctor tried grinning at him as Jack and Martha stiffened up. He created a quick and easy plan for today. One, cancel the ice skating. Two, find out what fell through the Void. Three, overthrow an entire planet.

Easy-peasy, lemon-squeezy.

"Right, of course. Have you had anything come in the past, uh, year or so."

"We've got stock to choose from." All three shifted uncomfortably again, wishing they could take this guy out now.

_Later, _Jack told himself.

"What about anything in the last year?", the Doctor asked, "Anything odd that's come through?"

"Now that you mention it, we did find a human wondering through the gates. Quite young, female, and extremely stubborn, or at least used to be. Not that it's different for you."

"Actually, I'd love to have a personable, uh, _peon-_", Martha spoke up. She couldn't bear to see a girl caught up in this mess, not if they failed to overthrow this guy later, "-as my same species."  
"A human, you say?", the Doctor tugged on his ear, "What's she like?"  
"Short, brown haired, small. Not what you'd be looking for."

"That sounds fine to me, doesn't it, Doctor?", Martha gave him a sideways glance, "It's not extremely hard work."

He and Jack nodded in agreement, and Monari sat back in his chair slowly with a grin.  
"When would you like to see it?"

"Is now ok?"

* * *

"Now listen to me, _merda_, behave or there's going to be consequences. Severe. And my I remind you that you haven't had a severe one in a while."

Monari drug Carina along the hallways of the city hall. He'd had her pulled out of the fields and brought to her the city to be bought. She looked down at her dirty feet with too-short toenails as she nodded. It wasn't any use to fight against it. People sounded interested in buying her. In no way was she giving up a chance to never see her master's lizard face again. Not that she would ever voice that thought. He might lock her up in the prison again. A place she never hoped to visit again. Maybe the people who bought her would be kind hearted towards someone so young. That was her prayer she kept chanting through her head.

Before he opened up the door to the room, Monari faced Carina so close that she could smell his breath. It reminded her of old onions. "I'll be glad to get rid of the likes of you", he said wickedly.

In a last act of defiance, she raised her bruised head and smiled at him. "Likewise, Master."

The slap was worth it.

* * *

_**A/N:**_ It's dark, it's gloomy, it's how I feel at the moment. Don't judge. SUPER SORRY FOR THE HIATUS. I promise it won't happen without warning again.

Also, my birthday was in the end of July. SO maybe we could get to 200 reviews to celebrate? I'll bring some ice cream, cake, and Nutella next time. ^_^ Just a thought... O_o


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